Walter Benjamin and Modern Theory

An intensive reading of selected essays by Walter Benjamin on language, literature, aesthetics, and politics will be paired up with the study of the interpretation and impact of this work on contemporary work in literary theory and philosophy. In addition to Benjamin, we will also read Jacques Derrida, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, Samuel Weber, Giorgio Agamben, and Peter Fenves. German and/or French helpful but not required. Open to graduate students only.