Preface.- Introduction.- Thinkers Standing on the Threshold of the Century.- The Sensual Culture in Commercialized Civilization.- Rallying Call of the 20th Century – War,Revolution and the Downfall of Fascism.- The Impact of Science and Technology on Culture.- Clashes between Eastern Culture and Western Culture.- Social Mobility, Women’s Liberation and Globalization.- From“Modernism” to “Post-Modernism” – Fission of Literature, Arts and Society.- Harbinger of the Digital Era.- Today’s Afterglow and Tomorrow’s Aurora.- Prophetic Contemplation on the Eve of a New Century.- Bibliography.
The author has achieved an outstanding accomplishment in history of human culture and published various monographs; the author is considered as one of the pioneers and representatives of the “Interdisciplinary for New Culture Studies” in contemporary China.
This book examines the cultural concepts that guided the development of the “age of mankind”— the changes that took place in historical, philosophical, scientific, religious, literary, and artistic thought in the 20th century. It discusses a broad range of major topics, including the spread of commercial capitalism; socialist revolutions; the two world wars; anti-colonialist national liberation movements; scientific progress; the clashes and fusion of Eastern and Western cultures; globalization; women’s rights movements; mass media and entertainment; the age of information and the digital society. The combination of cultural phenomena and theoretical descriptions ensures a unity of culture, history and logic. Lastly, the book explores the enormous changes in lifestyles and the virtualized future, revealing cultural characteristics and discussing 21st -century trends in the context of information technology, globalization and the digital era.