Abstract
Walter Benjamin’s notion of the "constellation" marks a particularly rich conjunction of the material, dialectical and religious impulses in his work. First appearing in his habilitation study for the University of Frankfurt, the term refers to a " caesura " in the flow of thought and thus of the dynamics of historical consciousness and recollection, resulting in an "image of dialectics at a standstill." Benjamin developed this notion further while working on his "Arcades Project" at the Bibliothèque national in Paris in the 1930s, and while in contact with fellow Jewish historian, Siegfried Giedion. Unlike Benjamin, Giedion was able to develop his Parisian research further in America as Mechanization Takes Command: A Contribution to Anonymous History (Giedion S, Mechanization takes command: a contribution to anonymous history. Oxford University Press, New York, 1948). The constellation reappears in this massive work, particularly in Giedion’s brief methodological introduction. Finally, similar characterizations are conspicuous in yet another programmatic opening; in this case, for a text which incorporates a related cosmic category into its very title. This is McLuhan’s Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man, published nearly 30 years after McLuhan’s first of many encounters with Giedion and his work. Using Hans Blumenberg’s "metaphorology," this chapter traces the probable transmission of the constellation from the old world to the new, and across these three landmark studies in material history. The chapter highlights the significance of the image of the constellation in each, showing how it has changed and evolved from its initial conception in Germany to its final reappearance in Canada.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Media Transatlantic |
Subtitle of host publication | Developments in Media and Communication Studies Between North American and German-Speaking Europe |
Pages | 51-61 |
Number of pages | 11 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9783319284897 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jan 2016 |
Keywords
- Explorations in communication
- Marshall mcLuhan
- Media studies
- Media theorization in Canada
- Siegfried giedion
- Walter benjamin