Walter Benjamin and the Media
The Spectacle of Modernity
Published on 20. June 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
196 pages
978-0-7456-4521-6 (ISBN)
Description
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.
Reviews / Votes
"In Walter Benjamin and the Media Jaeho Kang strikes a near perfect balance between biographical narrative and theoretical analysis. In doing so, Benjamin's media critique is fully contextualised removing any notion of obsolescence which may arise from a contemporary reading." LSE Review of Books For too long Walter Benjamin's lapidary texts have merely sparkled in the distance, unintegrated into everyday analyses of media and communications research. Jaeho Kang's fluent and energetic new reading of Benjamin's writings on radio, storytelling, media industries, and urban culture reinvigorates our connection with this great 20th century thinker of cultural change. Kang's beautifully organised book provides us with a welcome toolkit for grasping today's high-speed reconfiguration of our once familiar media landscapes. Nick Couldry, London School of Economics We know of Walter Benjamin in several guises: failed academic, brilliant journalist, messianic writer. But do we really know about Benjamin the media theorist, beyond 'Work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction'? Jaeho Kang takes us across disciplines along the intensely original intellectual journey that led Benjamin to the media. Brilliant and grave, erudite and luminous, Kang's book invites us to share Benjamin's incandescent curiosity. Daniel Dayan, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, ParisMore details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 211 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
348 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7456-4521-6 (9780745645216)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
07/2014
Polity Press
€17.99
Available for download
E-Book
07/2014
Polity Press
€17.99
Available for download
Book
06/2014
Polity Press
€67.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Jaeho Kang is Lecturer in Critical Media and Cultural Studies at the Centre for Media and Film Studies, SOAS, University of London
Content
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introducing Dr Benjamin
1. There and Then, Here and Now
2. Figuring Benjamin
3. Configuring Benjamin
Chapter 2 The Crisis of Communication and the Information Industry
Introduction
1. Storytelling and the Crisis of the Novel
2. The Newspaper and the Information Industry
3. The Intellectuals in the Age of Mass Media
Conclusion
Chapter 3 Radio and Mediated Storytelling
Introduction
1. Toward a Critical Sociology of the Audience
2. Radio Model
3. Some Motifs for Media Pedagogy
Conclusion
Chapter 4 Art and Politics in the Age of their Technological Reproducibility
Introduction
1. Photographic Reproducibility
2. The Media Culture of Distraction
3. Media and Democracy
Conclusion
Chapter 5 The Media City: Reading The Arcades Project
Introduction
1. Phantasmagorias of Modernity
2. Media Spectacle and Urban Space
3. Tactility of Media Critic
Conclusion
Chapter 6 Conclusion: The Actuality of Benjamin's Media Critique