Walter Benjamin and the Media

The Spectacle of Modernity
1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7456-4520-9
Verlag: Polity Press

Buch, Englisch, 196 Seiten, Format (B × H): 146 mm x 218 mm, Gewicht: 455 g

Reihe: TM - Theory and Media

Walter Benjamin (1892-1940), one of the most original and perceptive thinkers of the twentieth century, offered a unique insight into the profound impact of the media on modern society. Jaeho Kang’s book offers a lucid introduction to Benjamin’s theory of the media and its continuing relevance today.

The book provides a systematic and close reading of Benjamin’s critical and provocative writings on the intersection between media - from print to electronic - and modern experience, with reference to the information industry, the urban spectacle, and the aesthetic politics. Bringing Benjamin’s thought into a critical constellation with contemporary media theorists such as Marshall McLuhan and Jean Baudrillard, the book helps students understand the implications of Benjamin’s work for media studies today and how they can apply his distinctive ideas to contemporary media culture.

Kang’s book leads to a fresh appreciation of Benjamin’s work and new insight into critical theoretical approaches to media. The book will be of particular interest to students and researchers not only in media and communication studies but also in cultural studies, film studies and social theory, who are seeking a readable overview of Benjamin’s rich yet complex writings.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kang, Jaeho

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Mediensoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Kommunikationswissenschaften Massenmedien & Massenkommunikation
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Medienwissenschaften Medienphilosophie, Medienethik, Medienrecht
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Medienwissenschaften Medientheorie, Medienanalyse
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Medienwissenschaften Medien & Gesellschaft, Medienwirkungsforschung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Abbreviations ix

Acknowledgements xi

1 Introducing Dr Benjamin 1

There and Then, Here and Now 1

Figuring Benjamin 5

Configuring Benjamin 15

2 The Crisis of Communication and the Information Industry 24

Introduction 24

Storytelling and the Crisis of the Novel 26

The Newspaper and the Information Industry 38

The Intellectuals in the Age of Mass Media 50

Conclusion 62

3 Radio and Mediated Storytelling 65

Introduction 65

Towards a Critical Sociology of the Audience 68

Radio Model 74

Some Motifs for Media Pedagogy 85

Conclusion 97

4 Art and Politics in the Age of their Technological Reproducibility 100

Introduction 100

Photographic Reproducibility 102

The Media Culture of Distraction 117

Media and Democracy 129

Conclusion 147

5 The Media City: Reading The Arcades Project 150

Introduction 150

Phantasmagorias of Modernity 153

Media Spectacle and Urban Space 168

Tactility of Media Critic 193

Conclusion 198

6 Conclusion: The Actuality of Benjamin’s Media Critique 202

Notes 216

Further Reading 245

Index 251

Über Autor(innen)

Jaeho Kang is Lecturer in Critical Media and Cultural Studies at the Centre for Media and Film Studies, SOAS, University of London