Background Readings

Readings assigned by Keren Gorodeisky:

From Friedlander’s book: chapters 1-2
From Benjamin: 
"The Concept of Criticism in German Romanticism" (excerpt: TBA) (German)
"The Theory of Criticism" (German)
"Categories of Aesthetics" (German)
"On Semblance" (German)

Readings assigned by Arata Hamawaki:

From Friedlander's book: chapter 1
From Benjamin: "On the Program of the Coming Philosophy" (German).
"On Language as Such and the Language of Man", (German).

Readings assigned by Irad Kimhi:

From Friedlander's book: TBA
From Benjamin: "On the Program of the Coming Philosophy" (German).
Additional readings: Arendt, Introduction to Benjamin's Illuminations

Readings assigned by Christoph Koenig:

From Friedlander's book: chapter 9
From Benjamin:
“Franz Kafka, on the Tenth Anniversary of his Death” (German)
“Some Reflections on Kafka” (German)
Additional readings:
Kafka, The Silence of the Sirens; Das Schweigen der Sirenen

Kafka, Wish to become an Indian / Wunsch, Indianer zu werde

Readings assigned by Françoise Meltzer:

From Friedlander's book: chapter 7
From Benjamin:
On Some Motifs in Baudelaire, sections I-V (German)
Additional readings:
Baudelaire, Assommons les pauvres! (Let's Beat up the Poor!)
Baudelaire, A une passante (english translations) 

Readings assigned by Jim Conant:

From Friedlander's book: chapter 8
From Benjamin:

“The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility: Second Version”  (German)

“Little History of Photography”  (German)

Readings assigned by David Wellbery:

From Friedlander's book: chapters 8-9
From Benjamin:
“On the Concept of History”, "Ueber den Begriff der Geschichte"