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Informationen zum Autor Jaeho Kang is Lecturer in Critical Media and Cultural Studies at the Centre for Media and Film Studies, SOAS, University of London Klappentext Walter Benjamin (1892-1940), one of the most original and perceptive thinkers of the twentieth century, offered a unique insight into the profound impact of the media on modern society. Jaeho Kang's book offers a lucid introduction to Benjamin's theory of the media and its continuing relevance today.The book provides a systematic and close reading of Benjamin's critical and provocative writings on the intersection between media - from print to electronic - and modern experience, with reference to the information industry, the urban spectacle, and the aesthetic politics. Bringing Benjamin's thought into a critical constellation with contemporary media theorists such as Marshall McLuhan and Jean Baudrillard, the book helps students understand the implications of Benjamin's work for media studies today and how they can apply his distinctive ideas to contemporary media culture.Kang's book leads to a fresh appreciation of Benjamin's work and new insight into critical theoretical approaches to media. The book will be of particular interest to students and researchers not only in media and communication studies but also in cultural studies, film studies and social theory, who are seeking a readable overview of Benjamin's rich yet complex writings. Zusammenfassung Walter Benjamin (1892-1940), one of the most original and perceptive thinkers of the twentieth century, offered a unique insight into the profound impact of the media on modern society. Jaeho Kang s book offers a lucid introduction to Benjamin s theory of the media and its continuing relevance today. Inhaltsverzeichnis Acknowledgements xi 1 Introducing Dr Benjamin 1 There and Then, Here and Now 1 Figuring Benjamin 5 Configuring Benjamin 15 2 The Crisis of Communication and the Information Industry 24 Introduction 24 Storytelling and the Crisis of the Novel 26 The Newspaper and the Information Industry 38 The Intellectuals in the Age of Mass Media 50 Conclusion 62 3 Radio and Mediated Storytelling 65 Introduction 65 Towards a Critical Sociology of the Audience 68 Radio Model 74 Some Motifs for Media Pedagogy 85 Conclusion 97 4 Art and Politics in the Age of their Technological Reproducibility 100 Introduction 100 Photographic Reproducibility 102 The Media Culture of Distraction 117 Media and Democracy 129 Conclusion 147 5 The Media City: Reading The Arcades Project 150 Introduction 150 Phantasmagorias of Modernity 153 Media Spectacle and Urban Space 168 Tactility of Media Critic 193 Conclusion 198 6 Conclusion: The Actuality of Benjamin's Media Critique 202 Notes 216 Further Reading 245 Index 251 ...
List of contents
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introducing Dr Benjamin
1. There and Then, Here and Now
2. Figuring Benjamin
3. Configuring Benjamin
Chapter 2 The Crisis of Communication and the Information Industry
Introduction
1. Storytelling and the Crisis of the Novel
2. The Newspaper and the Information Industry
3. The Intellectuals in the Age of Mass Media
Conclusion
Chapter 3 Radio and Mediated Storytelling
Introduction
1. Toward a Critical Sociology of the Audience
2. Radio Model
3. Some Motifs for Media Pedagogy
Conclusion
Chapter 4 Art and Politics in the Age of their Technological Reproducibility
Introduction
1. Photographic Reproducibility
2. The Media Culture of Distraction
3. Media and Democracy
Conclusion
Chapter 5 The Media City: Reading The Arcades Project
Introduction
1. Phantasmagorias of Modernity
2. Media Spectacle and Urban Space
3. Tactility of Media Critic
Conclusion
Chapter 6 Conclusion: The Actuality of Benjamin's Media Critique
Report
"In Walter Benjamin and the Media Jaeho Kang strikes a near perfect balance between biographical narrative and theoretical analysis. In doing so, Benjamin's media critique is fully contextualised removing any notion of obsolescence which may arise from a contemporary reading."
LSE Review of Books
For too long Walter Benjamin's lapidary texts have merely sparkled in the distance, unintegrated into everyday analyses of media and communications research. Jaeho Kang's fluent and energetic new reading of Benjamin's writings on radio, storytelling, media industries, and urban culture reinvigorates our connection with this great 20th century thinker of cultural change. Kang's beautifully organised book provides us with a welcome toolkit for grasping today's high-speed reconfiguration of our once familiar media landscapes.
Nick Couldry, London School of Economics
We know of Walter Benjamin in several guises: failed academic, brilliant journalist, messianic writer. But do we really know about Benjamin the media theorist, beyond 'Work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction'?
Jaeho Kang takes us across disciplines along the intensely original intellectual journey that led Benjamin to the media. Brilliant and grave, erudite and luminous, Kang's book invites us to share Benjamin's incandescent curiosity.
Daniel Dayan, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris
