Of the present, or, increasingly, of recent times, in its use as a designator of a cultural movement that dominated most of the twentieth century. In fact, the historical limits of the modern are a matter of considerable debate, though scholars use the term most broadly to designate some period roughly between the limits of the early sixteenth century to the present or some point in the mid- to late-twentieth century. The term post-modern has been established by those arguing that the latter limit on the modern represents an era of historically significant cultural shifts. Modern is thus usefully distinguished from “contemporary” insofar as the latter retains its designation of the historical present now lost for many in the former term.