From: Rakesh Bhandari (bhandari@BERKELEY.EDU)
Date: Thu Mar 23 2006 - 03:37:39 EST
Fire Alarm: Reading Walter Benjamin by Michael L�wy Translated by Chris Turner Revolutionary critic of the philosophy of progress, nostalgic of the past yet dreaming of the future, romantic partisan of materialism-Walter Benjamin is in every sense of the word an "unclassifiable" philosopher. His last text was written in a state of urgency, as he attempted to escape the Gestapo in 1940, before finally committing suicide. "On the Concept of History" is one of the most important philosophical and political writings of the twentieth century, argues Michael L�wy in this scrupulous, clear and fascinating examination. L�wy uses the concept of "elective affinity," the mutual attraction between two cultural figures, derived from the amorous encounter of two souls in Goethe's novel Elective Affinities. Looking in detail at Benjamin's celebrated but often mysterious text, and restoring the philosophical, theological and political context, L�wy strives to understand and highlight the complex relationship between redemption and revolution in Benjamin's philosophy of history. "Sensitive to Benjamin's profound anxiety and the tragic vision of the world, L�wy traces the unfurling of this "revolutionary melancholia," which is haunted by the recurrence of disasters. ... It is unusual to explore the depths of a text in this manner, but it is true that we have here the text of an exceptional thinker." - Le Monde "A work of great humanist import ..." - L'Humanit� Michael L�wy is Research Director of Sociology at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris. His previous books include Redemption and Utopia: Liberation Judaism in Central Europe, Marxism in Latin America and The War of the Gods: Religion and Politics in Latin America. Publication February 2006 148 pages Cloth 1 84467 040 6 �16.99 / US$27 / CAN$38
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Mar 24 2006 - 00:00:04 EST