Weekly at 9:00 PT (West Coast), 12:00 ET (Lunchbreak East Coast), 17:00 GMT (London), 18:00 ECT (Paris/Berlin/Rome).
Walter Benjamin’s Theses on the Philosophy of History (Über den Begriff der Geschichte) is a collection of short texts written between 1938-1940 on the theory and practice of revolution, on intellectual resistance to fascism, and on the difference between history written by conquerors and an alternative conception of history which is both larger and centered on the experience of the oppressed. The repression of nature is coterminous with social repression in Benjamin’s view, and thus lends itself to the ideas of social ecology and contemporary theories of race, gender, decolonization, and the new social movements. A central theme runs through the Theses that also featured large in the ISE’s 50th anniversary conference: the handing down of tradition and the relationship between the generations of resistance. A short seminar study group that is open to participation without advanced preparation may help support this and offer international solidarity in our time.
Unlike most ISE courses, this seminar study group requires no reading or preparation for sessions. The text is divided into 18 theses with two addendums, each shorter than a page in length, and will be read aloud at the start of each session. The remainder of our time will be spent in open discussion on a variety of themes and concepts directed by the participants.
Our reading of Theses on the Philosophy of History will be divided across two eight-week semesters, fall and winter. Each week there will be a one-hour seminar discussion at 12pm Eastern. No prerequisites or preparation required. However, for the benefit of a collective working atmosphere, all participants must commit to a full attendance of a single semester (8 1-hour sessions). The entire text will be read across 2 semesters (16 1-hr sessions).
The seminar is offered without credit. However, written work can be submitted in
conjunction with the credit bearing course “Theories of Fascism.”
