Modernism, Science, and Technology

From quantum physics and genetics to psychology and the social sciences, from the development of atomic weapons to the growing mass media of film and radio, the early 20th century was a period of intense scientific and technological change. Modernism, Science, and Technology surveys the scientific contexts of writers from H.G. Wells and Gertrude Stein to James Joyce and Virginia Woolf and the ways in modernist writers responded to these paradigm shifts. Introducing key concepts from science studies and their implications for the study of modernist literature, the book includes chapters covering the physical sciences, mathematics, life sciences, social sciences and 'pseudosciences'. Including a timeline of key developments and guides to further reading, this is an essential guide to students and researchers studying the topic at all levels.

Mark S. Morrisson is Professor and Head of Department at Penn State University, USA. A former President of the Modernist Studies Association, he is co-editor of The Journal of Periodical Studies and his previous books include The Public Face of Modernism: Little Magazines, Audiences, and Reception 1905-1920 (2001) and Modern Alchemy: Occultism and the Emergence of Atomic Theory (2007).

1. Introduction: Modernism and Science Studies
2. The Physical Sciences and Mathematics
3. The Life Sciences
4. The Social Sciences
5. "Pseudosciences"
Bibliography
Index