Walter Benjamin (1892–1940)

The work of German literary and cultural critic Walter Benjamin is one of the most influential sources for postwar literary, historical and cultural studies. Benjamin studied German literature and philosophy but he also travelled widely in Europe and wrote about European cities, and translated Baude...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inModern European Criticism and Theory p. 141
Main Author Jeremy Tambling
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published United Kingdom Edinburgh University Press 2006
Subjects
Cultural studies
Literary studies: from c 1900
Literary studies: general
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Summary:The work of German literary and cultural critic Walter Benjamin is one of the most influential sources for postwar literary, historical and cultural studies. Benjamin studied German literature and philosophy but he also travelled widely in Europe and wrote about European cities, and translated Baudelaire and Proust in the 1920s. Introduced to Zionism in 1912 when he was twenty, this interest was supplemented by a friendship with Gershom Sholem (1897–1982) which he formed three years later and carried on in letter form after Sholem left for Palestine in 1923. Sholem’s comments on Benjamin are important (see Smith 1985, 51–
ISBN:9780748624492
074862449X