Philosophical Urbanism of Walter Benjamin

Akkerman, Abraham

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-29085-6_1

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Latour argues that we would only be modern if we perceive our surroundings and various disciplines in a specific way (Latour, 2012: 11) [4]. By associating the widely accepted understanding of modernity-intellectual achievement evolving from and enabled by the European Renaissance and the Enlightenment-, with Benjamin's special take on the mindenvironment feedback loop, Akkerman examines modernity through the interaction between minds and the built environment which stretches far enough to include climate and crowds of people (Akkerman, 2019). [5] This text, however, sets the historical cleavage a bit further in time-right about the beginning of the domestication of animals and plants.…”

Section: Retrospective Modernitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By associating the widely accepted understanding of modernity-intellectual achievement evolving from and enabled by the European Renaissance and the Enlightenment-, with Benjamin's special take on the mindenvironment feedback loop, Akkerman examines modernity through the interaction between minds and the built environment which stretches far enough to include climate and crowds of people (Akkerman, 2019). [5] This text, however, sets the historical cleavage a bit further in time-right about the beginning of the domestication of animals and plants. Latour argues that the severity and the omnipresence of the climate crisis can be vividly felt through the gradual realisation that we shall soon have nowhere to land (Latour, 2018: 9-10) [6].…”

Section: Retrospective Modernitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reconciling Modernity and Environmentalism: A Futile Yet Beautiful Effort

Chen¹

2023

FSD

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The ultimate beauty in the contemporary pursuit of the ecological transition lies not within finding a harmonious balance between social, economic and environmental objectives, but within the collective self-reflection urged by this existential threat. This study, thus, wishes to contribute to the exploration of the relationship between humans and their surroundings by investigating whether modernity and environmentalism are compatible. As it is out of the scope of this paper to discuss all possible combinations of the two given the rich theoretical frameworks that have been established, this study limits itself to the following assumptions. First of all, modernity and environmentalism are only viewed at a collective level (group of people with the same political representative and subscribed to the same political ideology) to put it differently. Secondly, I consider environmentalism as a mode of living that can be continued forever given all other factors being constant. Lastly, this study attributes two different temporalities to the notion of modernity; retrospective and contemporary. With these assumptions in mind, I argue that modernity and environmentalism are not compatible in either of the cases.

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Section: Retrospective Modernitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Retrospective Modernitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconciling Modernity and Environmentalism: A Futile Yet Beautiful Effort

Chen¹

2023

FSD

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“…In the 1980s Walter Benjamin was only known in an inner circle of specialists and academics but a decade later, and since then on, Walter Benjamin has become a well-known reference to the wider audience (Greenberg, 2008). His ideas in the Arcades Project on urban consumer culture inspired scholars (e.g., Akkerman, 2019) to critically reflect upon consumer culture (e.g., Kurylo, 2020), European colonialism in the nineteenth century (e.g., Vandertop, 2016) and refugees (e.g., Alfaro, 2020). Walter Benjamin was born on July 15, 1892 in Berlin, but circumstances forced him to take his life on September 26, 1940 at Portbou, a border town in Cataluny, Spain.…”

Section: Influences Of Walter Benjaminmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Poetry in Promoting a Sustainability Mindset: Walter Benjamin as a Guide Toward a Slow Journey

Molderez¹,

Baraniuk²,

Lambrechts³

2021

Front. Sustain.

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The emergence of highly complex sustainability challenges in modern society has led to the necessity of searching for more effective approaches to education for sustainable development. Research has shown that reflection leads toward more profound levels of engagement with respect to sustainable actions. Therefore, higher education has a role to play in stimulating reflection in light of sustainability. Art-based techniques, which have not been included alongside traditional teaching methods, have begun to gain the attention of researchers and teachers in higher education as they produce a deeper impact and involvement and can have a positive influence on the minds and hearts of the students. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that poetry can contribute to integrating the arts and humanities in management education. The potential effect of poetry on business management majors is being explored as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility course. Poetry has considerable potential as an innovative approach to teach sustainability, but it is rather unusual in business education. Poetry was chosen as an enabler for reflection and emotions. This original teaching project was followed by a research project relying on reflective assignments. A rereading of Walter Benjamin's Illuminations from the perspective of sustainability studies was a source of inspiration, in particular “Theses on the Philosophy of History,” “The Storyteller” and “Unpacking My Library.” The paper assumes that Benjamin's ideas relate to a slow journey involving “awakening,” “wisdom” and “in a process,” three elements that are at the core of promoting a sustainability mindset. The research project consisted of four reflection assignments students had to comply with: reading and interpreting poetry; searching for a poem which would be most appropriate for the discussed sustainability topic; creating their own poem and reflecting on the whole task. The research took place in the second semester of 2020 and first semester of 2021, all in COVID-19 pandemic context. Students' participation was not mandatory, but the majority joined. Their perceptions and impressions reinforce the existing knowledge about the emotional power of poetry to encourage reflection. The results show that poetry plays a relevant role in encouraging future managers to develop a frame of mind that incorporates sustainability and responsibility. Business students are open to this approach because it adds a new and unexpected dimension to their studies. Despite the urge to integrate reflections, this is still an exception for the majority of management courses. The results suggest that poetry is a relevant instrument to promote a more sustainable mindset among future managers. Paradoxically, by emphasizing a slow journey, i.e., allowing time for integrating reflective practices, a transition toward sustainability in daily managerial processes can be accelerated.

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Philosophical Urbanism of Walter Benjamin

Cited by 2 publications

References 40 publications

Reconciling Modernity and Environmentalism: A Futile Yet Beautiful Effort

Reconciling Modernity and Environmentalism: A Futile Yet Beautiful Effort

The Role of Poetry in Promoting a Sustainability Mindset: Walter Benjamin as a Guide Toward a Slow Journey

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