A Mystical Modernity
Instructor: Gustav Peebles, The New School for Social Research Contact: [email protected], 212 2298590, Liberal Studies Department
A Mystical Modernity: Walter Benjamin & Edgar Allan Poe Spring 2017, CRN: 6858 “All science would be superfluous if the form of appearance of things directly coincided with their essence.” Karl Marx, C apital Vol III , p. 956. “Feeling of understanding Poe much better now. The gates of grotesquerie seem to be opening. Only, I don’t wish to enter.” Walter Benjamin, O n Hashish , p. 20.
Description Walter Benjamin’s A rcades Project i s rightly viewed as a major milestone in the study of modernity. By relying on the theory of montage and distraction, along with inspiration from both mysticism and Marx, Benjamin produced a unique text about the commodity form, as well as about modern culture more generally. And yet, T he Arcades Project i s a daunting text to work through, and is therefore less studied than his famous texts such as T he Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction o r the T heses on a Philosophy of History . Even less well known are the affinities that Benjamin’s theory and work shares with Edgar Allan Poe, who he widely respected, having learned of him through Baudelaire’s high opinion of the American author. Aside from producing a text not dissimilar to T he Arcades Project , Poe also insisted on the power of revelation in countless of his texts. Further, he shared both tropes (e.g., the Maezel’s Chess Machine) as well as fascinations (graphology, cryptography, fashion). Thus, we will begin by placing T he Arcades Project w ithin a broader spectrum of social thought by working intensively not only with it, but also with texts on Jewish mysticism that inspired much of Benjamin’s thinking at the time. We will then chart the relationship between Benjamin’s oeuvre and the theories and work of Edgar Allan Poe, in order to carefully study how each scholar was trying to breathe new life into epistemological stances that were in retreat as a result of the scientific revolution. Task #1: T he onepage reading summaries work as follows: You provide a summary of the readings assigned for any given week and treat them critically. You must hand in 7 of these prior to the end of the term. Task #2: During Weeks 312, each student will be responsible for presenting on one of the Convolutes from The Arcades Project (we will assign Convolutes based on how many students are registered; we will chart the weekly assignment during class period of Week 2). Your task is to EITHER treat the Convolute “playfully” by telling us where it “sent you” while you were imbibing it, OR treat it more analytically, by providing us with more background on the specific contents of the Convolute and/or mapping out any links it might have to other authors (e.g., Bergson, Marx, etc.). Task #3: Mimicking Task #2, your final paper may be either “playful” or analytic, depending on your own inclinations, expertise, and skillset. Please discuss your topic with me in advance, and we can also discuss the wide range of possibilities as a group during class periods.
Course Scheduled Readings Part 1: An Introduction Week 1 – Introduction: Eschatology and Epistemology • Edgar Allan Poe, Domain of Arnheim. http://eapoe.org/works/tales/arnhmb.htm • Charles Baudelaire, Owls http://fleursdumal.org/poem/156 • Charles Baudelaire, The Clock http://fleursdumal.org/poem/218 Week 2– Scholasticism and Science • Koestler, A. (1959). The Sleepwalkers: Epilogue, (pp. 518542) • Brooke, J.L. (1994). Refiner’s Fire: Ch. 1 (pp. 329); Ch. 4 (pp. 90104) • Wilkinson, L. (1996). The Dream of an Absolute Language: Ch. 2 • Swift, J. (1726). Gulliver’s Travels: Book III, Ch. 5 (pp. 217225) Week 3— Jewish Mysticism • Scholem, G. (1941). Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism: Lectures 5 & 6 • Idel, M. (1998). Messianic Mystics: Appendix 2 (pp. 308320). • Benjamin, W. (1999). T he Arcades Project . Convolute p: Anthropological Materialism, History of Sects (pp. 808817) Part 2: Edgar Allan Poe Week 4 — Language: Hidden and Transparent • The Gold Bug http://eapoe.org/works/tales/goldbgc.htm • Autography (Part I: http://eapoe.org/works/misc/autogb1.htm) & (Part 2: http://eapoe.org/works/misc/autogb2.htm) • Ligeia http://eapoe.org/works/tales/ligeiad.htm • Man of the Crowd http://eapoe.org/works/tales/crowdb.htm • Philosophy of Furniture http://eapoe.org/works/harrison/jah14e08.htm • Some Notes on Cryptography (AKA: Secret Writing) http://eapoe.org/works/essays/fwsw0741.htm • Benjamin, W. (1999). T he Arcades Project . Convolute G: Exhibitions, Advertising, Grandville (pp. 171202)
Week 5 — A Theory of Distraction • The Purloined Letter http://eapoe.org/works/tales/plttrb.htm • The Mystery of Marie Roget http://eapoe.org/works/tales/rogetb.htm • Marginalia (Preface) • Benjamin, W. (1999). T he Arcades Project . Convolute A: Arcades (pp. 3161) Week 6— Time and Epistemology • The Raven http://eapoe.org/works/poems/ravenf.htm • The Philosophy of Composition http://eapoe.org/works/essays/philcmpb.htm • The Tale of the Ragged Mountains http://eapoe.org/works/tales/raggedd.htm • Colloquy of Monos and Una http://eapoe.org/works/tales/monosb.htm • The Devil in the Belfry http://eapoe.org/works/tales/dvlbfye.htm • Benjamin, W. (1999). T he Arcades Project . Convolute K: Dream City and Dream House, Dreams of the Future, Anthropological Nihilism, Jung (pp. 388404) Week 7— A Poetic Science • Eureka http://eapoe.org/works/editions/eurekac.htm • Sonnet: To Science http://eapoe.org/works/poems/scienceh.htm • Benjamin, W. (1999). T he Arcades Project . Convolute m: Idleness (pp. 800806)
Interlude Week 8 —Mysticism and Politics • James, W. (2002). The Varieties of Religious Experience: Lecture 16 & 17 (pp. 365416) • Scholem, G. (1941). Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism: Lecture 7 • Tresch, J. (2012). The Romantic Machine: Ch. 7 (pp. 191221) • Benjamin, W. (1999). T he Arcades Project . Convolute a: Social Movement (pp. 698739) Week 9– Spring Break: NO CLASS In one of the world’s more unlikely coincidences, The Jewish Museum of NYC is holding an exhibition this spring on The Arcades Project, opened between March 17August 6th. I encourage all of us to go at our own leisure, but there is currently a tentative plan for a lecture on March 26th that may be of interest if you happen to be in town (let’s all try to keep track of this date, as it is currently a moving target). http://thejewishmuseum.org/press/pressrelease/walterbenjaminannouncementrelease Part 3: Walter Benjamin Week 10 —Theological Underpinnings • A Communist Pedagogy • Theological Fragment • The Origin of German Tragic Drama (pp.748, 159182, 226233) • Capitalism as Religion • T he Arcades Project . Convolute C: Ancient Paris, Catacombs, Demolitions, Decline of Paris (pp. 82100) Week 11 (4/4) — On Language • Mimetic Faculty • Language and Logic • Antitheses on Word and Object • Ground of Intentional Immediacy • On Language and Language as Such (objects can speak) • T he Arcades Project . Convolute I: The Interior, The Trace (pp. 212227)
Week 12 —Crafting the Integral Experience • Bergson, H. (1922). An Introduction to Metaphysics • Letters with Adorno: “The Paris of the Second Empire in Baudelaire” (pp. 99111) & “The Flaneur Section of The Paris of The Second Empire in Baudelaire” (pp. 200210) • Sorel, G. (1999). Reflections on Violence: Ch. 4 (pp. 109142); Ch. 6, Section I (pp. 175184) & Section IV (pp. 204214) • T he Arcades Project . Convolute X: Marx (pp. 651670) Week 13— Arcades I • T he Arcades Project . Convolute M: The Flaneur (pp. 416455) • T he Arcades Project . Convolute D: Boredom, Eternal Return (pp. 101119) • Charles Baudelaire A Lyric Poet In The Era Of High Capitalism: pp. 4057 Week 14 — Arcades II • T he Arcades Project . Convolute N: On the Theory of Knowledge, Theory of Progress (pp. 456488) • T he Arcades Project . Convolute U: SaintSimon, Railroads (pp. 571602) • A rcades Project . Table of Contents (Convolutes): pp. 29 • On the Concept of History Part 4: Conclusion Week 15 —Dross and What To Do About It • Derrida, J. (1970). Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences: pp. 113 • Bataille, G. (1988). The Accursed Share: pp. 19142 • Durkheim, E. (1995). Elementary Forms of Religious Life: Conclusion (pp. 418448) Week 16 —Mystical Politics Today •Worsley, P. (1968). The Trumpet Shall Sound: Ch. 1 (pp.1731); Conclusion (pp. 221256) • How Mormonism Influenced the Bundy Standoff. WPR.
http://www.wpr.org/howmormonisminfluencedoregonstandof f
By Helen Galioto btby.bigcartel.com
