Modernism : evolution of an idea Introduction: Is There a There There 1. The Emergence of Modernism 2. Consolidation 3. Iron Filings 4. Networks Modernism: Evolution of an Idea traces the development of the term modernism from cultural debates in the early twentieth century to the dynamic contemporary field of modernist studies. Rather than assuming and recounting the contributions of modernisms chief literary and artistic figures this book focuses on critical formulations and reception through topics such as: the evolution of modernism from a pejorative term in intellectual arguments to its subsequent centrality to definitions of new art; new criticism and its legacies in the formation of the modernist canon in anthologies classrooms and literary histories; and shifting conceptions of modernism during the rise of gender and race studies French theory Marxist criticism postmodernism and more