Benjamin, Deleuze and the Baroque
The Early Modern Origins of Media Theory
Published on 6. February 2025
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-350-41421-1 (ISBN)
Description
For Walter Benjamin and Gilles Deleuze, who both authored seminal theoretical works on early cinema and photography, the history of modern media begins much earlier, in Baroque culture and science. Benjamin, Deleuze and the Baroque argues that their media theories were informed by their respective readings of the philosophy and mathematics of G.W. Leibniz, and the Baroque can thus be seen as the locus of modern media.
By critically comparing Benjamin and Deleuze's interpretations of the Baroque, Levin demonstrates the extent to which their theories of visual culture are intertwined with critiques of Enlightenment historiography and politics. Using a hermeneutic comparative approach, this book argues that the juxtaposition of Benjamin's reception of Leibniz with Deleuze's highlights the extent to which both authors' theories of image and media were informed by Leibniz's concepts of expression and perspectivism, themselves inspired by ground-breaking evolutions in optics and perspective. Providing close readings of Deleuze's The Fold and Benjamin's Origin of the German Trauerspiel, which remain understudied in the English language, it explores how, in their dual roles of philosopher and cultural critic, the pair may illuminate our own age of multiple crises through the Baroque.
By critically comparing Benjamin and Deleuze's interpretations of the Baroque, Levin demonstrates the extent to which their theories of visual culture are intertwined with critiques of Enlightenment historiography and politics. Using a hermeneutic comparative approach, this book argues that the juxtaposition of Benjamin's reception of Leibniz with Deleuze's highlights the extent to which both authors' theories of image and media were informed by Leibniz's concepts of expression and perspectivism, themselves inspired by ground-breaking evolutions in optics and perspective. Providing close readings of Deleuze's The Fold and Benjamin's Origin of the German Trauerspiel, which remain understudied in the English language, it explores how, in their dual roles of philosopher and cultural critic, the pair may illuminate our own age of multiple crises through the Baroque.
Reviews / Votes
Noa Levin's superb study of Benjamin and Deleuze's engagement with Leibniz paints a compelling picture of the enduring significance of the Baroque for modern media theory. By rigorously triangulating these thinker's positions, Levin not only unsettles some persistent preconceptions concerning Leibniz's account of our world as the best of all possible worlds; she also impressively manages to bring out the contemporary resonance of early modern thought - and its 20th-century reception - for understanding time, history, and politics in the image-scape of the 21st century. * Sebastian Truskolaski, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in German Cultural Studies, University of Manchester, UK. * While the Baroque is known for many things, clarity is not among them. And yet, like 'a certain glass or mirror' placed upon an anamorphic image, Noa Levin's study provides a lucid and compelling viewpoint precisely on account of the complexity and nuance of its subject matter. * Tim Flanagan, Lecturer in Humanities, Murdoch University, Australia * This is a fascinating study of the convergences between Benjamin and Deleuze's unorthodox interpretations of Leibniz. It finds that Leibniz anticipates a cinematic experience, and that his concepts of "expression," "perspectivism," and the "monad," as a "living mirror of the universe," are key to understanding Benjamin and Deleuze's media theories. * Paula Schwebel, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
10 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
540 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-41421-1 (9781350414211)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Noa Levin is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Academy of Architecture Mendrisio, Universita della Svizzera italiana, Switzerland and an Associated Researcher at the Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin, Germany. She specialises in visual cultures, philosophy of technology and philosophy of ecology.
Content
Introduction
I. A Strange Encounter
II. Redefining the Baroque
III. Leibniz, Paradigmatic Baroque Philosopher
Chapter 1: Of Monads and Mirrors: Leibniz's Monad in Deleuze and Benjamin
1.1 The Structure of Expression
1.2 Leibniz's Two Labyrinths
1.3 A Forbidden Tradition
1.4 Continuity of Knowledge and Experience
Chapter 2: Infinite Tasks of Learning: The Baroque-Inspired Critical Epistemologies of Benjamin and Deleuze
2.1 Infinite Analysis
2.2 Refiguring the Idea
2.3 The Concept of Origin
2.4 Minute Perceptions
2.5 Learning as Recollection
Chapter 3: Forces of History and Spectres of Return: The Baroque as Origin of Enlightenment Politics and Historicisms
3.1 Leibniz's Concepts of Force and Historical Progress
3.2 Virtual Histories and Infinite Totalities
3.3 Force and Violence in Origin of the German Trauerspiel
3.4 Apokatastasis and Eternal Return
3.5 Benjamin and Mallarme on Chance and Probability
Chapter 4: It's All about Perspective: The Body Politics of the Baroque Image
4.1 Benjamin's Monadic Montage
4.2 Leibniz's Conceptions of Image and Perspective
4.3 Perspectivism and Mannerism
4.4 Allegory and Symbol
4.4 Perception and Body
Chapter 5: From the Crystal Palace to Cinematic Crystals: The Baroque Optic as Pre-cinematic Form
5.1 Between the Dialectical Image and the Crystal-Image
5.2 Deleuze and Benjamin on Montage and Montrage
5.3 The Crystal Pyramid, Leibniz's Theodicy
Conclusion
I. A Strange Encounter
II. Redefining the Baroque
III. Leibniz, Paradigmatic Baroque Philosopher
Chapter 1: Of Monads and Mirrors: Leibniz's Monad in Deleuze and Benjamin
1.1 The Structure of Expression
1.2 Leibniz's Two Labyrinths
1.3 A Forbidden Tradition
1.4 Continuity of Knowledge and Experience
Chapter 2: Infinite Tasks of Learning: The Baroque-Inspired Critical Epistemologies of Benjamin and Deleuze
2.1 Infinite Analysis
2.2 Refiguring the Idea
2.3 The Concept of Origin
2.4 Minute Perceptions
2.5 Learning as Recollection
Chapter 3: Forces of History and Spectres of Return: The Baroque as Origin of Enlightenment Politics and Historicisms
3.1 Leibniz's Concepts of Force and Historical Progress
3.2 Virtual Histories and Infinite Totalities
3.3 Force and Violence in Origin of the German Trauerspiel
3.4 Apokatastasis and Eternal Return
3.5 Benjamin and Mallarme on Chance and Probability
Chapter 4: It's All about Perspective: The Body Politics of the Baroque Image
4.1 Benjamin's Monadic Montage
4.2 Leibniz's Conceptions of Image and Perspective
4.3 Perspectivism and Mannerism
4.4 Allegory and Symbol
4.4 Perception and Body
Chapter 5: From the Crystal Palace to Cinematic Crystals: The Baroque Optic as Pre-cinematic Form
5.1 Between the Dialectical Image and the Crystal-Image
5.2 Deleuze and Benjamin on Montage and Montrage
5.3 The Crystal Pyramid, Leibniz's Theodicy
Conclusion