In 1926: living at the edge of time

523 Pages·2006·7.81 MB·English

by  Hans Ulrich. Gumbrecht

In 1926
In 1926
LIVING AT THE
EDGE OF TIME
Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
1997
Copyright © 1997 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gumbrecht, Hans Ulrich.
In 1926: living at the edge of time I Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-674-00055-2 (alk. paper). - ISBN 0-674-00056-0 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Civilization, Modern-20th century. 2. Popular culture-History-20th century.
3. Nineteen twenty-six, A.D. 4. Civilization, Western-20th century. 1. Title.
CB427.G86 1997
909.82'2-dc21 97-30904
For Ricky
CONTENTS
User's Manual • IX
Arrays
Airplanes· 3, Americans in Paris· 12, Assembly Lines· 22,
Automobiles· 26, Bars· 34, Boxing· 42, Bullfighting· 54,
Cremation· 62, Dancing· 66, Elevators· 75, Employees· 80,
Endurance· 87, Engineers· 93, Gomina . 102, Gramophones· 108,
Hunger Artists· 115, Jazz· 120, League of Nations· 126,
Mountaineering· 132, Movie Palaces· 141, Mummies· 149,
Murder· 155, Ocean Liners· 164, Polarities· 172,
Railroads· 177, Reporters· 185, Revues· 191, Roof Gardens· 198,
Six-Day Races· 203, Stars· 207, Strikes· 217, Telephones· 225,
Timepieces· 233, Wireless Communication· 241
Codes
Action vs. Impotence· 253, Authenticity vs. Artificiality· 262, Center vs.
Periphery· 272, Immanence vs. Transcendence· 281, Individuality vs.
Collectivity· 293, Male vs. Female· 303, Present vs. Past· 312, Silence vs.
Noise· 320, Sobriety vs. Exuberance· 329, Uncertainty vs. Reality· 336
vii
viii CONTENTS
Codes Collapsed
Action = Impotence (Tragedy) . 351, Authenticity = Artificiality
(Life) ·358, Center = Periphery (Infinitude) . 364, Immanence =
Transcendence (Death) . 372, Individuality = Collectivity (Leader) . 383,
Male = Female (Gender Trouble) . 390, Present = Past (Eternity) ·400
Frames
After Learning from History· 411
Being-in-the-Worlds of 1926: Martin Heidegger,
Hans Friedrich Blunck, Carl Van Vechten . 437
Notes • 481
Acknowledgments • 499
Index • 501
User's Manual
Where to Start
Do not try "to start from the beginning," for this book has no
beginning in the sense that narratives or arguments have beginnings.
Start with any of the fifty-one entries in any of the three sections
entitled "Arrays," "Codes," and "Codes Collapsed" (the alphabeti-
cal order of the subheadings shows that there isn't any hierarchy
among them). Simply start with an entry that particularly interests
you. From each entry a web of cross-references will take you to other,
related entries. Read as far as your interest carries you (and as long
as your schedule allows). You'll thus establish your individual read-
ing path. Just as there is no obligatory beginning, there also is no
obligatory or definitive end to the reading process. Regardless of
where you enter or exit, any reading sequence of some length should
produce the effect to which the book's title alludes: you should feel
"in 1926." The more immediate and sensual this illusion becomes,
the more your reading will fulfill the book's chief aim. Note: you can,
if you like, experience this effect without reading the last two chap-
ters, "After Learning from History" and "Being-in-the-Worlds of
1926."
Mode(s)
In the sections "Arrays," "Codes," and "Codes Collapsed," the writ-
ing aims at being strictly descriptive. This discourse is meant to bring
out dominant surface perceptions as they were offered by certain
ix