Modern and Modernity: An Assessment

The word modern is more connotative than denotative. Different ideological positions have explored the origin and value of the attributive term. The word has wide currency in the study of literature and culture. The present study focuses on the different implications in the use on the words modern and modernity in relation to the ideological interpretations. It explores the Marxist, the capitalist, the post-colonial, the philosophical and the sociological meanings and their relevance in the study of literature. It argues that the common aspects in all these formations of modernity are the spirit of equality and emancipation, and not advancement or progress. The critical modernity helps to position ourselves in the debate about the features of the modern and modernity.