The Cambridge Companion to Walter Benjamin PDF
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TheCambridgeCompaniontoWalterBenjamin ThisCompanionoffersacomprehensiveintroductiontotheworkandthought ofthehighlyinfluentialtwentieth-centurycriticandtheoristWalterBenjamin. The volume provides examinations of the different aspects of Benjamin’s workthathavehadasignificanteffectoncontemporarycriticalandhistorical thought. Topics discussed by experts in the field include Benjamin’s relation to the avant-garde movements of his time, the form of the work of art, his theories on language and mimesis, modernity, his relation to Brecht and the FrankfurtSchool,hissignificanceandrelevancetomodernculturalstudies,his formative interpretation of Romanticism, and his autobiographical writings. ThevolumeisaimedatreaderswhomaybecomingtoBenjaminforthefirst timeorwhohavesomeknowledgeofBenjaminbutwouldliketoknowmore abouttheissuesandconceptscentraltohiswork.Additionalmaterialincludes aguidetofurtherreadingandachronology. DownloaCCdaaemmd frbborrmiidd Cggaeem bCCrioodgmme ppCaaomnnpiiooannniossn OOs Onnnlliilinnneee b ©©y I PCC 1aa3mm7.bb20rr5iidd.5gg0.ee42 UU onnn iiTvvueeerr Mssiiattryy 2 2PP rr1ee3:ss4ss9,,: 422800 G00M66T 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521793297.014 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016 DownloaCCdaaemmd frbborrmiidd Cggaeem bCCrioodgmme ppCaaomnnpiiooannniossn OOs Onnnlliilinnneee b ©©y I PCC 1aa3mm7.bb20rr5iidd.5gg0.ee42 UU onnn iiTvvueeerr Mssiiattryy 2 2PP rr1ee3:ss4ss9,,: 422800 G00M66T 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521793297.014 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016 THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO WALTER BENJAMIN EDITED BY DAVID S. FERRIS DownloaCCdaaemmd frbborrmiidd Cggaeem bCCrioodgmme ppCaaomnnpiiooannniossn OOs Onnnlliilinnneee b ©©y I PCC 1aa3mm7.bb20rr5iidd.5gg0.ee42 UU onnn iiTvvueeerr Mssiiattryy 2 2PP rr1ee3:ss4ss9,,: 422800 G00M66T 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521793297.014 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016 published by the press syndicate of the university of cambridge ThePittBuilding,TrumpingtonStreet,Cambridge,UnitedKingdom cambridge university press TheEdinburghBuilding,Cambridge,cb22ru,UK 40West20thStreet,NewYork,ny10011-4211,USA 477WilliamstownRoad,PortMelbourne,vic3207,Australia RuizdeAlarco´n13,28014Madrid,Spain DockHouse,TheWaterfront,CapeTown8001,SouthAfrica http://www.cambridge.org (cid:1)C CambridgeUniversityPress2004 Thisbookisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements, noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithout thewrittenpermissionofCambridgeUniversityPress. Firstpublished2004 PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge TypefaceSabon10/13pt SystemLATEX2ε [tb] AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata TheCambridgeCompaniontoWalterBenjamin/editedbyDavidS.Ferris. p. cm.–(CambridgeCompanionstoLiterature) Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. isbn0521793297(hardback)isbn0521797241(paperback) 1.Benjamin,Walter,1892–1940–Criticismandinterpretation. i.Ferris,DavidS.,1954– ii.Series. pt2603.e455z5912 2004 838(cid:2).91209–dc21 2003053297 isbn0521793297hardback isbn0521797241paperback DownloaCCdaaemmd frbborrmiidd Cggaeem bCCrioodgmme ppCaaomnnpiiooannniossn OOs Onnnlliilinnneee b ©©y I PCC 1aa3mm7.bb20rr5iidd.5gg0.ee42 UU onnn iiTvvueeerr Mssiiattryy 2 2PP rr1ee3:ss4ss9,,: 422800 G00M66T 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521793297.014 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016 CONTENTS Listofcontributors page vii Listofabbreviationsandshorttitles ix Chronology xi Introduction:ReadingBenjamin 1 david s. ferris 1 WalterBenjaminandtheEuropeanavant-garde 18 michael jennings 2 Artforms 35 jan mieszkowski 3 LanguageandmimesisinWalterBenjamin’swork 54 beatrice hanssen 4 WalterBenjamin’sconceptofculturalhistory 73 howard caygill 5 Benjamin’smodernity 97 andrew benjamin 6 Benjaminandpsychoanalysis 115 sarah ley roff 7 BenjaminandtheambiguitiesofRomanticism 134 rebecca comay v DownloaCCdaaemmd frbborrmiidd Cggaeem bCCrioodgmme ppCaaomnnpiiooannniossn OOs Onnnlliilinnneee b ©©y I PCC 1aa3mm7.bb20rr5iidd.5gg0.ee42 UU onnn iiTvvueeerr Mssiiattryy 2 2PP rr1ee3:ss4ss9,,: 422800 G00M66T 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521793297.014 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016 Contents 8 Bodypolitics:Benjamin’sdialecticalmaterialismbetween BrechtandtheFrankfurtSchool 152 rainer na¨gele 9 Methodandtime:Benjamin’sdialecticalimages 177 max pensky 10 Benjamin’sphantasmagoria:theArcadesProject 199 margaret cohen 11 Actsofself-portraiture:Benjamin’sconfessionaland literarywritings 221 gerhard richter Guidetofurtherreading 238 Index 242 vi DownloaCCdaaemmd frbborrmiidd Cggaeem bCCrioodgmme ppCaaomnnpiiooannniossn OOs Onnnlliilinnneee b ©©y I PCC 1aa3mm7.bb20rr5iidd.5gg0.ee42 UU onnn iiTvvueeerr Mssiiattryy 2 2PP rr1ee3:ss4ss9,,: 422800 G00M66T 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521793297.014 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016 CONTRIBUTORS andrew benjamin hastaughtinuniversitiesintheUnitedKingdomand the United States. He is currently Professor of Critical Theory at Monash University,Australia.Hispublicationsinclude:PresentHope(1997);Archi- tectural Philosophy (2000); and Philosophy’s Literature (2001). He is joint editoroftheseriesWalterBenjaminStudiespublishedbyContinuumPress. howard caygill isProfessorofCulturalStudiesatGoldsmithsCollege, UniversityofLondon,whereheteachesphilosophy,aesthetics,andcultural history.Hispublicationsinclude:ArtofJudgment(1989);AKantDictionary (1995);WalterBenjamin:TheColourofExperience(1998);andLevinasand thePolitical(2002). margaret cohen isProfessorofFrenchandItalianatStanfordUniver- sity.SheistheauthorofProfaneIllumination:WalterBenjaminandtheParis of the Surrealist Revolution (1993) and The Sentimental Education of the Novel(1999).Sheisalsoco-editorofSpectacleofRealism–Body,Gender, GenreandTheLiteraryChannel–TheInternationalInventionoftheNovel (2002). rebecca comayteachesPhilosophyandLiteraryStudiesattheUniversity of Toronto. She is currently working on a book on Hegel and melancholia andcompletingacollectionofessaysonBenjamin. david ferris is Professor of Comparative Literature and Humanities at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is the author of Theory and the Evasion of History (1993) and Silent Urns: Romanticism, Hellenism, Modernity (2000); and the editor of Walter Benjamin: Theoretical Ques- tions(1996).HeiscurrentlycompletingabookonWalterBenjaminentitled TorsosofModernity:WalterBenjaminandtheMomentofCriticism. beatrice hanssen isProfessorofGermanattheUniversityofGeorgia, Athens. She is the author of Walter Benjamin’s Other History: Of Stones, vii DownloaCCdaaemmd frbborrmiidd Cggaeem bCCrioodgmme ppCaaomnnpiiooannniossn OOs Onnnlliilinnneee b ©©y I PCC 1aa3mm7.bb20rr5iidd.5gg0.ee42 UU onnn iiTvvueeerr Mssiiattryy 2 2PP rr1ee3:ss4ss9,,: 422800 G00M66T 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521793297.014 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016 Listofcontributors Animals, Human Beings, and Angels (1998) and Critique of Violence: Be- tween Poststructuralism and Critical Theory (2000) and co-editor of The Turn to Ethics (2000). She is also co-editor of Walter Benjamin Studies, which includes the volume Walter Benjamin and Romanticism (2002), and editorofWalterBenjaminandtheArcadesProject(2004). michael jennings is Professor of German at Princeton University. He is the author of Dialectical Images: Walter Benjamin’s Theory of Literary Criticism(1987).HealsoservesastheGeneralEditoroftheSelectedWritings ofWalterBenjamin(HarvardUniversityPress). jan mieszkowski is Assistant Professor of German and Humanities at Reed College. His publications include essays on Kleist, syntactic revolu- tionsafterFichte,andthetheoryofperformanceinKafka.Hehasrecently completed a book on the conception of historical experience that emerges attheintersectionsofGermanRomanticismandclassicalpoliticaleconomy, tentativelytitledIdeologyandInterest. rainer na¨gele isProfessorofGermanattheJohnsHopkinsUniversity. HehaspublishedwidelyonGermanliteratureandthought.Hispublications include: Reading After Freud (1987); Theater, Theory, Speculation: Walter BenjaminandtheScenesofModernity(1991);EchoesofTranslation:Read- ing Between Texts (1997); and Literarische Vexierbilder. Drei Versuche zu einerFigur(2001). max penskyisProfessorofPhilosophyattheStateUniversityofNewYork atBinghamton.HeistheauthorofMelancholyDialectics:WalterBenjamin and the Play of Mourning (1993). He is also the editor of The Actuality of Adorno:CriticalEssaysonAdornoandthePostmodern(1995)andJurgen Habermas:ThePostnationalConstellation(2000).Hisforthcomingbookis entitled,TheEndsofSolidarity:StudiesinCriticalTheory. gerhard richter is Associate Professor of German and an Affiliate ProfessorinComparativeLiteratureattheUniversityofWisconsin-Madison. He is the author of Walter Benjamin and the Corpus of Autobiography (2000)aswellastheeditorofBenjamin’sGhosts:InterventionsinContem- poraryLiteraryandCulturalTheory(2002)andLiteraryPaternity,Literary Friendship:EssaysinHonorofStanleyCorngold(2002). sarah hey roff hastaughtasAssistantProfessorofGermanatPrince- ton University. She currently works for the Democratic Party of Oregon. She has recently published articles on psychoanalysis and cultural history, Benjamin’sArcadesProject,andErnstJu¨nger.Sheisatworkonabookcalled HitlerCrackingUp. viii DownloaCCdaaemmd frbborrmiidd Cggaeem bCCrioodgmme ppCaaomnnpiiooannniossn OOs Onnnlliilinnneee b ©©y I PCC 1aa3mm7.bb20rr5iidd.5gg0.ee42 UU onnn iiTvvueeerr Mssiiattryy 2 2PP rr1ee3:ss4ss9,,: 422800 G00M66T 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521793297.014 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016 ABBREVIATIONS AND SHORT TITLES Generally,referencestoBenjamin’sworksaregivenparentheticallyinthetext (byshorttitlewhereneeded,followedbyvolumeandpagereference).Alist oftheabbreviationsusedaswellasshorttitlesforthemostfrequentlycited ofBenjamin’sessaysfollows.ForthetitlesofBenjamin’sworks,thisvolume has followed those used in the Selected Writings. In the case of Benjamin’s “On the Concept of History,” it should be noted that, although this text is referred to by this title alone, reference has also been made to the earlier translation of this text in Illuminations (where it appeared as “Theses on thePhilosophyofHistory”).Aspecialnoteisrequiredforreferencestothe Arcades Project. The materials contained in this volume are referred to by pagereferenceexceptwherethereisalsoaconvolutenumberingsystem;in thiscase,referencesaretothepagenumberfirst,thentheconvolutenumber (forexample,“Arcades,460;n1a,8”). Abbreviations BA/B Adorno/BenjaminBriefwechsel1928–1940.Ed.HenriLonitz. FrankfurtamMain:Suhrkamp,1994. C TheCorrespondenceofWalterBenjamin.Trans.ManfredR. JacobsonandEvelynM.Jacobson.UniversityofChicagoPress, 1994. CA/B TheodorW.AdornoandWalterBenjamin,TheComplete Correspondence1928–1940.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversity Press,1999. GBr GesammelteBriefe.6vols.Ed.ChristophGo¨ddeandHenriLonitz. FrankfurtamMain:Suhrkamp,1995–2000. GS GesammelteSchriften.7vols.Ed.RolfTiedemannandHerman Schweppenha¨user.FrankfurtamMain:Suhrkamp,1972–89. Ill Illuminations.Ed.HannahArendt.NewYork:Schocken, 1968. ix DownloaCCdaaemmd frbborrmiidd Cggaeem bCCrioodgmme ppCaaomnnpiiooannniossn OOs Onnnlliilinnneee b ©©y I PCC 1aa3mm7.bb20rr5iidd.5gg0.ee42 UU onnn iiTvvueeerr Mssiiattryy 2 2PP rr1ee3:ss4ss9,,: 422800 G00M66T 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521793297.014 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016 Listofabbreviationsandshorttitles R Reflections.Ed.PeterDemetz.NewYork:HBJ,1978. SW SelectedWritings[followedbyvolumenumber].Ed.Michael Jenningsetal.,4vols.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress, 1996–2003) Shorttitles Arcades TheArcadesProject.Trans.HowardEilandand KevinMcLaughlin.Cambridge,MA:BelknapPress ofHarvardUniversityPress,1999. ConceptofCriticism ConceptofCriticisminEarlyGerman Romanticism.InSWI,116–200. “Doctrine” “DoctrineoftheSimilar.”InSWII,694–98. Friendship GerschomScholem,WalterBenjamin:TheStoryof aFriendship.NewYork:Schocken,1981. “Goethe” “Goethe’sElectiveAffinities.”InSWI,297–360. “Motifs” “OnSomeMotifsinBaudelaire.”InSWIV,313–55. “OnLanguage” “OnLanguageasSuchandontheLanguageof Man.”InSWI,62–74. Origin TheOriginoftheGermanTragicDrama.Trans. JohnOsborne.London:NLB,1977. “Proust” “OntheImageofProust.”InSWII,237–47. “Task” “TheTaskoftheTranslator.”InSWI,253–63. x DownloaCCdaaemmd frbborrmiidd Cggaeem bCCrioodgmme ppCaaomnnpiiooannniossn OOs Onnnlliilinnneee b ©©y I PCC 1aa3mm7.bb20rr5iidd.5gg0.ee42 UU onnn iiTvvueeerr Mssiiattryy 2 2PP rr1ee3:ss4ss9,,: 422800 G00M66T 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521793297.014 Cambridge Companions Online © Cambridge University Press, 2016
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