Bookmark: Reading Platform

A regular reading group focusing on texts and screenings ranging from art, culture, politics, philosophy, anthropology and sociology.

If you would like to suggest reading material and chair an informal discussion, or deliver a presentation, please make this known on the group page, or alternatively send an email to tomjamesholland@gmail.com.

You can also join the Bookmark: Reading Platform Facebook group page to keep up with events, share information, and join the debate.

The text for this meeting is Theses on the Philosophy of History by Walter Benjamin:

Bring your Benjaminian knowledge or novice enthusiasm this Wednesday as we attempt to have a conversation about his Theses on the Philosophy of History (1940).

Hussein, who suggested it, thankfully knows a thing or two about his work and will provide a very basic introduction to his thinking.

Although relatively short, the fragmentary text has generated decades of scholarly debate and a range of interpretations.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy gives a good intro and contextualises his thought: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/benjamin/#ImaHisCul

The text itself is available via the links below:

Marxists.org: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/benjamin/1940/history.htm

Libcom PDF: https://libcom.org/files/Theses.pdf

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