In his famous theses on the philosophy of history, Benjamin writes: "We have been endowed with a weak messianic power to which the past has a claim." This claim addresses us not just from the past but from what will have belonged to it only as a missed possibility and unrealized potential. For Benajmin, as for Celan and Derrida, what has never been actualized remains with us, not as a lingering echo but as a secretly insistent appeal. Because such appeals do not pass through normal channels of communication, they require a special attunement, perhaps even a mode of unconscious receptivity. Levine examines the ways in which this attunement is cultivated in Benjamin's philosophical, autobiographical, and photohistorical writings; Celan's poetry and poetological addresses; and Derrida's writings on Celan.
1115104277
A Weak Messianic Power: Figures of a Time to Come in Benjamin, Derrida, and Celan
In his famous theses on the philosophy of history, Benjamin writes: "We have been endowed with a weak messianic power to which the past has a claim." This claim addresses us not just from the past but from what will have belonged to it only as a missed possibility and unrealized potential. For Benajmin, as for Celan and Derrida, what has never been actualized remains with us, not as a lingering echo but as a secretly insistent appeal. Because such appeals do not pass through normal channels of communication, they require a special attunement, perhaps even a mode of unconscious receptivity. Levine examines the ways in which this attunement is cultivated in Benjamin's philosophical, autobiographical, and photohistorical writings; Celan's poetry and poetological addresses; and Derrida's writings on Celan.
31.0
Out Of Stock
5
1
![A Weak Messianic Power: Figures of a Time to Come in Benjamin, Derrida, and Celan](http://img.images-bn.com/static/redesign/srcs/images/grey-box.png?v11.12.6)
A Weak Messianic Power: Figures of a Time to Come in Benjamin, Derrida, and Celan
192![A Weak Messianic Power: Figures of a Time to Come in Benjamin, Derrida, and Celan](http://img.images-bn.com/static/redesign/srcs/images/grey-box.png?v11.12.6)
A Weak Messianic Power: Figures of a Time to Come in Benjamin, Derrida, and Celan
192Related collections and offers
31.0
Out Of Stock
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780823255115 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Fordham University Press |
Publication date: | 11/11/2013 |
Pages: | 192 |
Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d) |
About the Author
From the B&N Reads Blog