The Rise of the Modern Era
The idea of Modernity, or the Rise of the Modern Era, is very extensive and confusing. There are three different time periods of Modernity: Early Modernity (1700s to 1900), High Modernity (1910–1960), and Late Modernity (1970–1990/2000). All of these periods greatly differ from one another, showing that the Modern Era never stopped advancing. In the section of Michael Soha’s project, “Technology & Social Change: Four Major Eras,” titled, “Rise of the Modern Era/ ‘Modernity,’” he has a quote that reads, “I think, therefore I am.” I think this is a great way to describe this era because people were experiencing new things and finding their true self. The thought of doing something new was not a totally strange idea because more and more was becoming possible in Modernity.
The Age of Enlightenment and the emergence of Institutions embodies the era of Modernity. Early Modernity was the start of the Age of Enlightenment; a time when religious explanations turned to scientific explanations. Science was seen as something that could improve society and one’s well being. Of course there were religious-based societies in this time, but science was a new way to understand the world and rational thinking. Nonetheless, the advancements of science took a turn for the worse with the rise of eugenics. Eugenics was a time when many western countries would use science to determine if people were deemed “unfit” to live in their country. The use of eugenics was brought into Nazi Germany, evidently leading to the Holocaust. Early Modernity used science in good and constructive ways, but also in the worst ways imaginable. The good ways do not outway the bad, but we can admit that science in that time led us to the great modern science we have today. With the rise of science brought in the idea of structured living; the “institution” organized and structured programs of hygiene, education, news, and information. Social, political, and economic institutions were the reason Modernity was so advanced and well-ordered for its time. This dominant form of social organization is the reason we have public education, public libraries, museums, mental health institutions, etc. Institutions are truly the reason we are all sane. Without them, most of us would have little to no education, terrible mental health problems, die early, and we would all probably be homeless. Science and institutions structured and organized societies in the 1700s and they still do today.
The emergence of the printing press and the first mass newspaper happen in Early Modernity. However, high Modernity, the period between 1910 and 1960, advanced a great deal from Early Modernity. In High Modernity, industries become more advanced as more jobs started to come forth. Working in labor was one of, if not the most, popular thing to do. In this era, motion picture, radio, and television developed and it was a huge hit. Nationalism became more popular as mass communication mediums progressed; the people in these societies finally had experiences that they could share. Mass communication was and still is a center point for societies to bond together as one. Secular societies were also coming forward at this point. This is when church and state are separate. People live like this to prevent the state from taking control of the belief system and focusing on one group rather than focusing on all of them. The advancements from 1910 to 1960 were huge and shaped a lot of who we are today.
Late Modernity was the period between 1970–1990/2000. This was a time of national, post-national and trans-national identity. In the modern era, “master narratives” came into play. The use of overarching stories, mythologies, and values that shape a society or country are “master narratives.” Nationalism often comes from these experiences. The rise of the Modern Era was truly life changing for people back then along with people right now. All four major eras shaped who we are as people and as a society, but I would say Modernity really made the biggest impact on all of us.
