Modernism...eh?

Ok so in two of my classes (Humanities and American Lit.) we're dealing with Modernism. So far, all I want to do is groan every time I hear the word.
I don't understand it. It's an all encompassing box of ideals during the 20th century, sure. But that doesn't make any sense. The Europeans see it as a break from all that is the past, the Irish see it as embracing their past, Americans don't have a lot of past to break from or embrace so they see it as urban or rural...there are too many ideas here to all be put in the same box!
Faulkner has so much dialect its ridiculous, and in The Sound and The Fury (which, strangely, I actually found myself liking) there's all this muddied time and place and who and name. It would take years to really understand the book. (BTW, thank God for spell check or this last bit would have been gibberish with my typing rant.)
Next we read Grendel and I'm not sure if I should be afraid...A book based on another book so that the author didn't have to focus on plot...not only that but the symbols are zodiac and the philosophy is 20th century rather than pre-historic Celtic whatever that Beowulf was written in? My head hurts already!.

Looking for a job for the summer, any ideas?