phantasmagoria of urban spectacle: walter benjamin and media theory today

This contribution is the audio recording of a talk that Jaeho Kang gave at the University of Westminster in the Communication and Media Research Institute's (CAMRI) Research Seminar Series on October 29, 2014. Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) is one of the most original and perceptive German literary and cultural critics, but his unique insight into the profound impact of the media on modernity has received a good deal less attention. Based on my book, 'Walter Benjamin and the Media: The Spectacle of Modernity' (2014, see http://www.polity.co.uk/book.asp?ref=9780745645209), I will talk about Benjamin’s critical and provocative writings on the intersection between media and modern experience with particular reference to phantasmagoria, aesthetic public space, and urban spectacle. In so doing, I will clarify Benjamin’s distinctive and enduring contribution to contemporary media studies.