Assignment:
Write a 1000-word essay in response to the following:
The Oxford English Dictionary defines modernity as "An intellectual tendency or social perspective characterized by departure from or repudiation of traditional ideas, doctrines, and cultural values in favour of contemporary or radical values and beliefs."
Historians look at the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution as the "Dual Revolution," the moment the modern came into existence and when tradition began to be challenged in many ways. New notions of government, liberty, nationhood, cities, empire, social class, economics, and war took center stage in public and political discussions. In your exam, please answer the following:
Describe how the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the creation of the modern nation state led to significant ideological, political and social developments in the Modern West.
You should consider the roles of different groups and people, such as social activists, urban planners, political scientists, politicians, imperialists, etc. In answering this question consider the reactions represented by different ideologies: Romanticism, Socialism, Nationalism, Liberalism, etc. Make sure you make clear to which aspects of modernity different writers are reacting.