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3034

One-Way Street: Walter Benjamin and the Arts

Eugene Lang College Lib Arts: The Arts

Liberal Arts
Undergraduate Course
Degree Students
Walter Benjamin and the Arts
Fall 2024
Taught By: Kenneth White
Section: A

CRN: 17411

Credits: 4

Knowledge comes only in lightning flashes,” Walter Benjamin declared. “The text is the long roll of thunder that follows.” This course explores Benjamin’s work and his defining contributions to histories of art, cultural analysis, and media theory: we will seek those flashes, that thunder. Benjamin’s notions of “aura,” “optical unconscious,” “technological reproducibility,” and the “dialectical image,” endure as provocative concepts by which to negotiate the shock effects of “modern times.” With his book Einbahnstraße (“One-Way Street,” 1928) as our guide, the course proceeds in a radiating shape from Benjamin’s examination of Weimar Germany to his insights on 19th and 20th century visual culture at large. From August Sander to Mickey Mouse, we will follow Benjamin’s studies of mass culture and its discontents. Course modules will address Benjamin’s work on photography, film and radio, children’s books, advertising and design, fascism, violence, and history. We will examine contemporaneous developments in art, such as Dada, Surrealism, Constructivism, New Objectivity, and German Expressionism, and Benjamin’s writings on them, complemented by readings in literature, psychoanalysis, political science, and critical theory. Film screenings will enrich our investigations. Throughout, we will nurture continuous inquiry into the implications of Benjamin’s work for our own time.

College: Eugene Lang College Lib Arts (LC)

Department: The Arts (ART)

Campus: New York City (GV)

Course Format: Seminar (R)

Modality: In-Person

Max Enrollment: 18

Repeat Limit: N/A

Add/Drop Deadline: September 9, 2024 (Monday)

Online Withdrawal Deadline: November 17, 2024 (Sunday)

Seats Available: No

Status: Closed*

* Status information is updated every few minutes. The status of this course may have changed since the last update. Open seats may have restrictions that will prevent some students from registering. Updated: 8:00am EST 12/13/2024

Meeting Info:
Days: Tuesday, Thursday
Times: 2:00pm - 3:40pm
Building: Johnson/Kaplan 66 West 12th
Room: 615
Date Range: 8/26/2024 - 12/15/2024