History of the present : ǂthe ǂcontemporary and its culture

This book explores the demise of the grand narrative of European modernity. That once commanding narrative located the meaning of the past in the present and the meaning of the present in an ever-receding future. Today, instead, the present defines both the past and the future. The ‘contemporary’ has replaced ‘modern’ and ‘post-modern’ self-understandings. The times of the past and the future have been transformed into versions of ‘now’ while the present has acquired its own history. __History of the Present__ describes the emergence of this ‘contemporary’ historical consciousness across a wide spectrum of cultural phenomena ranging from historiography to heritage and museum studies, and from the globalization of the novel to the rise of science fiction. The culture of the ‘contemporary’ appears particularly clearly in the merging of high and low culture along with art and fashion. This book will appeal to scholars of sociology, cultural and social theory, museum and heritage studies, and literary history and criticism. This book explores the demise of the grand narrative of European modernity. That once commanding narrative located the meaning of the past in the present and the meaning of the present in an ever-receding future. Today, instead, the present defines both the past and the future. The ‘contemporary’ has replaced ‘modern’ and ‘post-modern’ self-understandings. The times of the past and the future have been transformed into versions of ‘now’ while the present has acquired its own history. History of the Present describes the emergence of this ‘contemporary’ historical consciousness across a wide spectrum of cultural phenomena ranging from historiography to heritage and museum studies, and from the globalization of the novel to the rise of science fiction. The culture of the ‘contemporary’ appears particularly clearly in the merging of high and low culture along with art and fashion. This book will appeal to scholars of sociology, cultural and social theory, museum and heritage studies, and literary history and criticism. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 10 1 The constitution of cultural modernity 14 2 From the modern to the contemporary 24 3 The past present: history as trauma 36 4 The present past: history as heritage 56 5 The future present: science fiction and the time of the novel 74 6 The present future: from world literatures to global literature 91 7 The present for the present: the museum of contemporary art 110 8 The absolute present: modern, postmodern, contemporary 129 Index 149 "The book explores the demise of the grand narrative of European modernity. That once commanding narrative located the meaning of the past in the present and the meaning of the present in an ever-receding future. Today, instead, the present defines both the past and the future. The 'contemporary' has replaced 'modern' and 'post-modern' self-understandings. The times of the past and the future have been transformed into versions of 'now' while the present has acquired its own history. History of the Present describes the emergence of this 'contemporary' historical consciousness across a wide spectrum of cultural phenomena ranging from historiography to heritage and museum studies, and from the globalization of the novel to the rise of science fiction. The culture of the 'contemporary' appears particularly clearly in the merging of high and low culture along with art and fashion. The book will appeal to scholars of sociology, cultural and social theory, museum and heritage studies, and literary history and criticism"-- Provided by publisher This book poses the question of contemporary historical consciousness across a wide spectrum of cultural phenomena ranging from historiography to heritage and museum studies, from the globalization of the novel to the rise of science fiction, and from the aestheticization of everyday life to the question of the meaning of the present.