From Self to Society (Transitions in American Thought)

Alienation, disillusionment, the individual 'alone' in society--these aren't problems new to the USA. In this unique, multifaceted volume, Crunden provides a fresh viewpoint on the crucial years between the two world wars, years which witnessed dramatic changes in the intellectual & social mood of the country. Focusing on the problem of the individual's role in society, he presents portraits of representative figures from the arts, literature & the social sciences to demonstrate how the intellectual optimism of the Progressive Era was assaulted by the violence of WWI & finally gave way to the pessimism of the 20s & the collectivism of the 30s. Analyzing the work of John Marin, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ruth Benedict, George Antheil, Robert Park, Conrad Aiken etc, he documents how the basic relationship of the individual to society at large changed during this period 'from the self in society, to the self apart from society, to the self submerged in society.'