Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Widely regarded as one of the foremost cultural critics of the last century, Walter Benjamin's relation to modernism has largely been understood in the context of his reception of the aesthetic theories of early German romanticism and his associated interest in avant-garde Surrealism. But this romantic understanding only gives half the picture.
Running through Benjamin's writings is a critique of romanticism, particularly focused upon the life and works of J. W. von Goethe. This book reconstructs the centrality of Goethe for not only Benjamin's philosophy but also a range of early 20th-century intellectual figures who were pivotal for his thought. In uncovering this neglected connection, it situates the significance of Goethe's classicism to debates concerning modernism and modernity for those associated with the conservative nationalism of Stefan George, Gundolf and Ludwig Klages, but also the left-wing aesthetics of Lukacs, Simmel and Kracauer in Germany and the artistic avant-garde in Russia.
Adopting a transcritical approach that draws attention to shifts and movements between political, geographical and disciplinary perspectives, this book offers a new understanding of modernism that is used to rethink the post-romantic condition of contemporary culture.