The first half of the 20th century witnessed catastrophic destruction through world wars and genocides; its third quarter, in contrast, became a period of unprecedented stability and affluence; this, however, gave way to yet another phase of collapse and epochal change that marked not only the end of the century but perhaps also the end of the entire Modern Era. This course proposes to look at all this social and political tumult, as well as the accompanying history of culture, ideas, art and science, through the works and overlapping yet diverging interpretations of some its major observers and commentators.