The problem with this is that the way we might now define the century is probably not how it will ultimately be defined. I am sure the Victorians would have defined themselves differently from how they are now. The contemporary view of the 20th century is likely to be something on the order of the Bloomsbury view of the Victorian era. I continue to be amazed by the views I often hear expressed about 1950s America, my formative years. I do not recognize the decade I lived through in many of the accounts I hear of it. It was a decade that gave us some of the best plays America has produced, some of the best films, some wonderful - if now sadly neglected - classical music, some very good novels and poetry. Though abstract expressionism is not one of my favorite styles of art, it still turnedout more interesting work than came later.
Hopefully, the people of the future will look back at such lists and say something like, "This is how the people of the early 21st century defined the century they just left behind..."
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