Building on critical assessments of the idea and influence of modernity, historical geographers have recently reconsidered subjects such as power and identity, human-environment relationships, and the genealogy of geographical thought. This course will treat modernity not just as a historical condition, but as a geographical project. Broad texts on modernity and its spatial dimensions will be read and discussed alongside a geographically diverse set of site-specific studies. Themes to be used for orientation include violence and anti-violence; science and empire; and cultures of modern urbanism.