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Age of Contradiction: American Thought and Culture in the 1960s
In Age of Contradiction, Howard Brick provides a rich context for understanding historical events, cultural tensions, political figures, artistic works, and trends of intellectual life. His lucid and comprehensive book combines the best methods of historical analysis and assessment with fascinating subject matter to create a three-dimensional...
272 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 4, 2011
Conveniently positioned between the decades of consensus (1950s) and what Daniel Rogers has called the "Age of Fracture" (1970s-early 1980s), Howard Brick's survey of the 1960s, "Age of Contradiction", works as a historical bridge while ably navigating one of the most complex intellectual and cultural periods in American history. Like "Age of Fracture", "Age of Contradiction" is more of a collage of disparate intellectual and cultural trends than a systematic analysis of 1960s culture and intellectual life. Brick's aim is to illuminate the contradictions present in American culture as it moved out of the age of consensus and into an age of interest groups. At its best, as in the chapters on "Contradictions of the Affluent Society" and "Development and Its Discontents", "Age of Contradiction" brilliantly illustrates how trends in thought and culture came about and then were combatted by it ideological opposite. In his chapter on development, Brick shows how modernization theorists clashed with those who feared the alienating effects of technology and mechanization as well as dependency theorists who argued that modernization theory was an apology for continued Western economic hegemony.
Despite its value as an intellectual bridge, the notion that the 1960s was an age of contradictions doesn't really mean all that much. Every era is flush with intellectual and cultural contradictions, and though the political turmoil that embroiled the United States during the 1960s may have put those contradictions in sharper relief, the contradictions themselves are not unique. Brick could just as easily examine the contradictions present in contemporary society ranging from competing ideologies of nativism and globalization, the role of history as both something to be transcended as well as reclaimed, and economic hardship combined with the growth of consumerism. Brick is certainly not the only author guilty of this generalization, the same types of criticism have been made about Rogers's "Age of Fracture" concept. However, one cannot help but be unconvinced by the uniqueness of the 1960s as an age of contradiction when it seems that contradictory behavior is part of the human condition and endemic to every epoch.
The other major problem with "Age of Contradiction" is its length. At only 190 pages (without notes), the scope of Brick's ambition is incommensurate with the depth of his research. Too often "Age of Contradiction" feels like it is bouncing around between major intellectuals, political and social movements, and policies without analyzing any of them in sufficient detail. I wish he would have cut out the visual art and music parts of the book for this reason. If he had confined "Age of Contradiction" to intellectuals and politicians he may have had a case that in those domains the 1960s were an age of contradictions, but art and music are very different domains and fit in uneasily with the rest of Brick's examples like modernization theory and the Black Panthers.
"Age of Contradiction" is a serviceable work by a tremendous scholar, but its wide scope, short length, and broad concept limit its effectiveness. Certain chapters could act as useful introductions to concepts like modernization and system theory in an undergraduate class, but outside academia a book like "Nixonland" will be both more accessible and interesting for most readers.
Despite its value as an intellectual bridge, the notion that the 1960s was an age of contradictions doesn't really mean all that much. Every era is flush with intellectual and cultural contradictions, and though the political turmoil that embroiled the United States during the 1960s may have put those contradictions in sharper relief, the contradictions themselves are not unique. Brick could just as easily examine the contradictions present in contemporary society ranging from competing ideologies of nativism and globalization, the role of history as both something to be transcended as well as reclaimed, and economic hardship combined with the growth of consumerism. Brick is certainly not the only author guilty of this generalization, the same types of criticism have been made about Rogers's "Age of Fracture" concept. However, one cannot help but be unconvinced by the uniqueness of the 1960s as an age of contradiction when it seems that contradictory behavior is part of the human condition and endemic to every epoch.
The other major problem with "Age of Contradiction" is its length. At only 190 pages (without notes), the scope of Brick's ambition is incommensurate with the depth of his research. Too often "Age of Contradiction" feels like it is bouncing around between major intellectuals, political and social movements, and policies without analyzing any of them in sufficient detail. I wish he would have cut out the visual art and music parts of the book for this reason. If he had confined "Age of Contradiction" to intellectuals and politicians he may have had a case that in those domains the 1960s were an age of contradictions, but art and music are very different domains and fit in uneasily with the rest of Brick's examples like modernization theory and the Black Panthers.
"Age of Contradiction" is a serviceable work by a tremendous scholar, but its wide scope, short length, and broad concept limit its effectiveness. Certain chapters could act as useful introductions to concepts like modernization and system theory in an undergraduate class, but outside academia a book like "Nixonland" will be both more accessible and interesting for most readers.
June 23, 2025
Pretty good! Studiously even-handed and generous to all the intellectuals and artists discussed, even as they range all over the map.
Biggest weaknesses are the meandering structure that often revisits the same topics and thinkers, and “land of contrasts” thesis. It’s very useful as a survey to not really have a strong opinion, but it limits how far you can go.
Biggest weaknesses are the meandering structure that often revisits the same topics and thinkers, and “land of contrasts” thesis. It’s very useful as a survey to not really have a strong opinion, but it limits how far you can go.
September 5, 2009
An examination of the 1960s largely in terms of formal ideas and artistic trends, and very well grounded systematically (in terms of capitalism and alienation in particular).
Brick argues that the central feature of the 1960s was the contradiction inherent in the new affluent society, wherein the prospects of abundance opened vistas of social change and increased hopes of democratic participation in public life while at the same time reinforcing personal alienation and concentrating effective power.
Brick argues that the central feature of the 1960s was the contradiction inherent in the new affluent society, wherein the prospects of abundance opened vistas of social change and increased hopes of democratic participation in public life while at the same time reinforcing personal alienation and concentrating effective power.
April 28, 2011
I really enjoyed Chapter 7, and pieces of chapter five, where it discussed authenticity vs. artifice in music, but other than that, it was kind of blah. I think it would be a much better read for those that are well-versed in studies of 1960s culture, because otherwise many of the references Brick makes will just go straight over your head.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews