Adventures in Modernism: Thinking with Marshall Berman

Marshall Berman was a political theorist, urbanist, and public intellectual who gave generations a way to think about what it means to be modern. He offered a vision of Marx as a pre-eminent modernist and humanist, which served as a touchstone for his exploration into the complexity of our modern world and our lives. Marshall seamlessly wove together the ideas of Dostoevsky and Kurtis Blow as well as the experiences of St. Petersburg and the South Bronx. In so doing, he made sense of the maelstrom of modern life and inspired a feeling of optimism in the midst of the chaos, where all that is solid melts into air.
Adventures in Modernism: Thinking with Marshall Berman begins with Marshall’s unpublished essay, "Emerging from the Ruins." With contributions by theorists, architects, media critics, urbanists, and historians from across the globe, it is a testament to the broad influence of Marshall’s work. Some essays demonstrate the potential for applying his methods of analysis into places like Iran or Scotland. Others return to familiar places such as the South Bronx or Times Square in order to stretch or update Marshall’s analyses. And a few essays engage Marshall as a theorist and educator, examining his ideas of public, urban life, modernity, and modernism in and beyond the classroom. Collectively, the essays that comprise this volume reflect deeply on Marshall’s work, and speak to its continued relevance in deciphering and finding meaning in our modern world.