Weimar Thought: A Contested Legacy

Published by Princeton University Press 2013

Weimar Thought

A Contested Legacy

Edited by: Peter E. Gordon and John P. McCormick

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400846788

Overview
Contents

About this book

During its short lifespan, the Weimar Republic (1918-33) witnessed an unprecedented flowering of achievements in many areas, including psychology, political theory, physics, philosophy, literary and cultural criticism, and the arts. Leading intellectuals, scholars, and critics--such as Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, Bertolt Brecht, and Martin Heidegger--emerged during this time to become the foremost thinkers of the twentieth century. Even today, the Weimar era remains a vital resource for new intellectual movements. In this incomparable collection, Weimar Thought presents both the specialist and the general reader a comprehensive guide and unified portrait of the most important innovators, themes, and trends of this fascinating period.

The book is divided into four thematic sections: law, politics, and society; philosophy, theology, and science; aesthetics, literature, and film; and general cultural and social themes of the Weimar period. The volume brings together established and emerging scholars from a remarkable array of fields, and each individual essay serves as an overview for a particular discipline while offering distinctive critical engagement with relevant problems and debates.

Whether used as an introductory companion or advanced scholarly resource, Weimar Thought provides insight into the rich developments behind the intellectual foundations of modernity.

Author / Editor information

Peter E. Gordon is the Amabel B. James Professor of History at Harvard University. His books include Continental Divide and Rosenzweig and Heidegger. John P. McCormick is professor of political science at the University of Chicago. His books include Machiavellian Democracy and Weber, Habermas, and Transformations of the European State.

Reviews

This sophisticated compendium of 19 essays by leading scholars in history, cultural studies, political science, and philosophy attempts to address the complexity, importance, and legacy of one of the 20th century's most important eras of intellectual activity. . . . [T]hese intellectual histories are not very connected to context, providing instead effective overviews and suggesting some new ways to consider intellectual giants of the 20th century. That feat is impressive and valuable.

"This collection provides readers with a clear introduction to the riches of intellectual life in Weimar Germany and contextualizes many of the trends and innovations that took place there. Essential for anyone interested in the philosophical, theological, historical, political, legal, aesthetic, and scientific movements of Weimar Germany, this book will have a wide audience."—Leora Batnitzky, Princeton University

"This is the first work in a generation that presents a comprehensive overview of Weimar culture with all its complexity and contradictions. It successfully shows continuities and discontinuities with the past, and tensions that resist reduction. The book's reach—from theology to the biological sciences, and literary criticism to legal theory—goes far beyond any other volume I am aware of on the same subject."—Peter Carl Caldwell, Rice University

"In the annals of cultural history, the Weimar Republic was an ideational crucible that bears comparison only with classical Athens and Renaissance Florence. In many respects, as a site of modernity, its achievements remain unsurpassed. Weimar Thought revisits this legacy in ways that are fresh, rich, thought provoking, and subtle. It is destined to become the standard work on the Weimar experience for years to come."—Richard Wolin, author of Heidegger's Children: Hannah Arendt, Karl Löwith, Hans Jonas, and Herbert Marcuse

By seeking understanding and refraining from evaluative synthesis, every contribution in this volume prompts the reader to reflect on lessons of Weimar in light of the present social, political, and cultural situation. Its innovative methodological outlook and its numerous field-specific interventions make Weimar Thought an indispensible resource for any future studies of the epoch.---Dennis Johanssen, German Quarterly

"The years of the short-lived Weimar Republic witnessed a remarkable burgeoning of intellectual and cultural activity. Incorporating recent theoretical and methodological currents, and more recent advances in empirical scholarship, this timely volume brings together outstanding scholars of the field and synthesizes this crucial moment in modern culture."—Warren Breckman, University of Pennsylvania

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Introduction. Weimar Thought: Continuity and Crisis Peter E. Gordon and John P. McCormick Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I. Law, Politics, Society
1. Weimar Sociology David Kettler and Colin Loader Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	15
2. Weimar Psychology: Holistic Visions and Trained Intuition Mitchell G. Ash Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
3. Legal Theory and the Weimar Crisis of Law and Social Change John P. McCormick Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
4. The Legacy of Max Weber in Weimar Political and Social Theory Dana Villa Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
Part II. Philosophy, Theology, Science
5. Kulturphilosophie in Weimar Modernism John Michael Krois Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	101
6. Weimar Philosophy and the Fate of Neo-Kantianism Frederick Beiser Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	115
7. Weimar Philosophy and the Crisis of Historical Thinking Charles Bambach Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
8. Weimar Theology: From Historicism to Crisis Peter E. Gordon Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	150
9. Method, Moment, and Crisis in Weimar Science Cathryn Carson Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
Part III. Aesthetics, Literature, Film
10. Walter Benjamin, Siegfried Kracauer, and Weimar Criticism Michael W. Jennings Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203
11. Writers and Politics in the Weimar Republic Karin Gunnemann Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	220
12. Aesthetic Fundamentalism in Weimar Poetry: Stefan George and his Circle, 1918–1933 Martin A. Ruehl Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	240
13. Weimar Film Theory Sabine Hake Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	273
14. The Politics of Art and Architecture at the Bauhaus, 1919–1933 John V. Maciuika Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	291
15. Aby Warburg and the Secularization of the Image Michael P. Steinberg Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	316
Part IV. Themes of an Epoch
16. Eastern Wisdom in an Era of Western Despair: Orientalism in 1920s Central Europe Suzanne Marchand Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	341
17. Weimar Femininity: Within and Beyond the Law Tracie Matysik Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	361
18. The Weimar Left: Theory and Practice Martin Jay Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	377
19. The Aftermath: Reflections on the Culture and Ideology of National Socialism Anson Rabinbach Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	394
Weimar Thought: A Chronology Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	407
Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	417
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	423

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