Modernity And Modernism: An Intra-Western Debate

Abstract

Although the concepts of modernity and modernism are frequently encountered in both social science literature and everyday life, there is widespread confusion about the semantic domain these concepts encompass and the aspects in which they differ. The confusion in question leads to complex situations such as the improper usage of these concepts in ways that are incompatible with their meanings, or the use of these concepts interchangeably, even in many academic works. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate clearly the semantic domains of the words modernity and modernism, as well as their differences and similarities, and to explain their characteristics as an intra-Western debate by referring to the historical and social context in which they originated. In this study, the main discussions that have arisen within this framework have been assessed using a comparative analysis method, and it has been suggested that modernity could be understood as the post-19^th century historical tale of the West, and modernism as the culture of modernity.