Week 11.1: All That Is Solid Melts into Air

Reading:
Berman, All That Is Solid Melts into Air, 5-36

Study Questions: 
1. The phrase "all that is solid melts into air" comes from The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. What does Berman mean by it? How does it apply to the situation of modernity?

2. The role of the streets plays a major role in Berman's thought. (a) Why are the streets important to Berman's ideas? (b) What is Berman's goal for modernity and how might the streets play a role in achieving this goal?

Week 10.2: All That Is Solid Melts into Air

Marshall Berman (1940-2013) was a philosopher, literary scholar, and defender of the humanist tradition. His obituary in the New York Times described Berman as "a public intellectual and often optimistic one."
Berman's work focused on the modern urban environment as understood through the writings of Marx, particularly Marx's earlier more romantic work. For Berman, modernism offers up the opportunity to both remake ourselves and our environment. Such a transformation is not easy and it can be fraught with both instability, conflict, and danger. However, these difficulties are offset by modernism's emancipatory and revolutionary possibilities.   

Reading:
Marshall Berman, All That Is Solid Melts into Air, 5-36

Homework:
In lieu of our normal homework format, I have created a study sheet that will enable you to more closely attend to the text. Please download it here. We will also be discussing the same pages on 11.2 and we will have our usual study questions then. Today's homework is worth 15 pts.