CFP: Workshop on Walter Benjamin’s “theory of fascism”

The aim of this workshop is to schematize what we might call Walter Benjamin’s “theory of fascism.” The name “Walter Benjamin” may not necessarily call to mind an explicit theorization of fascism. While Benjamin is well-loved for his aesthetic theory, his critique of historical and technical “progress,” and his theorization of juridical violence, none of these necessarily indicate a unifying or even detailed theory of fascism such as we find in the work of his contemporaries, such as Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer. A major presupposition of this workshop is that, through critical examination of what Benjamin has to say about fascism through his work, we might discover an opportunity to reorient extant understandings of Benjamin by identifying in and developing out of his work a coherent theory of fascism. The format of a group workshop serves as a vehicle through which Benjamin scholars can come together to assess how Benjamin has theorized and thematized fascism across his work, from the mysticism of the early Benjamin to the later, notably more Marxist Benjamin.

The workshop will be held as a hybrid and dual event, organized at Emory University, USA and KU Leuven, Belgium, each focusing on specific subdomains of the discussion, with a broader discussion at the end. The workshop will focus on pre-selected papers and close reading sessions of key texts over three days. Acceptance into the workshop will be based on short writeups or paper drafts submitted by potential workshop participants. We recommend that these writeups and drafts connect to the proposed themes and questions of the workshop such that our discussions, analyses, and development of these topics contributes to the refinement and/or development of your own research questions and interests. These themes/topics may include but are not necessarily limited to the relationship between liberalism, capitalism, and fascism; the importance history, experience, or consciousness when approaching the problem of fascism; fascist and/or “Right wing” culture, the culture of Leftism, or Benjamin’s critique of Leftists and Marxists (such as the German SPD). Ideally, workshop participants will come away from the workshop with a more developed research focus, or a more refined draft of a research paper. A full schedule of readings and group discussion, as well as a more detailed presentation of the workshop’s guiding themes and questions, will be made available to participants upon their acceptance.

The texts that are considered to contain Benjamins “theory” of fascism and around which the workshop will primarily be centered, are the following: “Life of Students” (1915), “Critique of Violence” (1921), “Notes toward an Analysis of the State of Central Europe” (1923),  “One Way Street” (written 1923-26, published 1928), “For Dictatorship. Interview with Georges Valois” (1928), “Theories of German Fascism” (1930), “Letter from Paris” (1936), “Eduard Fuchs, Collector and Historian” (incl. the original typescript) (1937), “The Work of Art in the Age of its Technical Reproducibility” (1935-9), “Theses on the Concept of History” (1940). In the case of a highly idiosyncratic and fragmentary thinker such as Benjamin, it is often required to include a whole range of other writings to gain an adequate understanding of this selection. This workshop is developed for individuals who have a sustained interest and engagement with Benjamin, and we encourage selected workshop participants to bring in and share their perspectives on other texts not listed here. Participants will all read these materials, which will be provided for them as PDFs. These readings will be discussed in conjunction with guiding questions and themes, both jointly between the Emory and KU Leuven locations as well as in smaller groups in both locations. This will allow participants to explore a more specific set of questions in more detail, which they will then bring back to the group for discussion.

The workshop will be held in July 9th through July 11th, 2025 in both the KU Leuven and Emory locations. Both workshop locations will confer each day via zoom in order to connect the discussions being had in both locations.

Keynote lectures will be delivered in hybrid format at both the KU Leuven and Emory University locations. The lectures will be given by Ronald Mendoza-de Jesús (Emory University) at the KU Leuven location, and Duy Lap Nyugen (University of Houston) at the Emory University location.

How to apply:

·      Send your writeup to [email protected] and [email protected]

o   Subject line should read “Walter Benjamin workshop application”

o   In the body of your email please include:

§  Name

§  Institutional affiliation (if applicable)

§  Location choice (are you applying for the Europe of United States location?)

·      Eligibility for acceptance is broad. Interested parties should feel free to apply regardless of institutional affiliation. Graduate students as well as post-docs and undergraduates are welcome to apply.

·      The deadline for applications is January 6th, 2025.