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Perhaps this century's most celebrated German literary critic, cultural historian, and homme de lettres, Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) has been examined from a remarkably wide array of angles, appropriated by a host of disparate and often contradictory programs, and repeatedly considered anew in light of evolving critical methodologies. Perceived as a utopian Marxist, a Jewish messianist, and a historical materialist, Benjamin has elicited responses from commentators in such disciplines as art history, sociology, and political science and from proponents of such diverse theoretical enterprises as feminism, new historicism, Marxism, and poststructuralism. The central aims of this course are to introduce Benjamin's main works in English translation; to examine the ways in which he has been received among his contemporaries and critics; to engage in the debate on how to appraise Walter Benjamin's critical legacy.
COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA GERM Grading Mode: Student Option
Prerequisites: NONE
Last Updated on MAR-24-2000
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459