This seminar looks at the phenomenon of modernity from a multidisciplinary point of view. Discussed are the cultural foundations of modernity, specifically and primarily nationalism but also Romanticism, science, and major political ideologies. Also analyzed are modernization and development as studied by the social sciences, modernism, and postmodernism in literary and cultural studies; and the nature of man and society in the perspectives of modern philosophy. Also offered as CAS AN 543. Either or both of SO 541 and SO 543 may be taken for credit.