We asked a diverse array of scholars to share their reflections on Walter Benjamin and the role that theology plays in his thought, as well as the strengths and limitations of his approach to theology at various stages of his work.
The Political Theology Network aims to be a hub for exploring the intersection of religious and political ideas and practices. The Network is interdisciplinary, publicly engaged, and committed to building links between theologians, practitioners, and humanities scholars. Riding a wave of scholarly interest in political theology that itself follows the increasing visibility of religion in public life, the Network seeks to create the infrastructure that will allow this interest to flourish in the long term, supporting discussions of political theology in the classroom, in scholarly research, and in the public arena. By bringing scholars thinking with the term “political theology” from throughout the humanities together with scholars of religious traditions, we aim to thicken the appreciation of religion’s complexity among the former while sharpening the critical edge of the latter.
Mario Mikhail is a writer and researcher with interests in political and cultural sociology, social theory, and urban studies. He is currently a PhD student in political science and sociology at Scuola Normale Superiore. Mario holds an Erasmus Mundus Master’s degree in Euroculture from the University of Groningen and the University of Udine and was awarded the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship. He has published articles, including both academic and popular pieces.
Aleix Muñoz Gómez is a PhD student at Universidad de Salamanca
Yonathan Busquila Listik is a Lecturer at the University of Leiden. His interests are related to philosophy, more specifically, the possible connections between contemporary ontology in the continental tradition, political and social theory, epistemology, and aesthetics.
Symposium Essays
An Introduction to Walter Benjamin and Theology
We asked a diverse array of scholars to share their reflections on Walter Benjamin and the role that theology plays in his thought, as well as the strengths and limitations of his approach to theology at various stages of his work.
Walter Benjamin’s Epistemology Through Art
This article delves into Walter Benjamin’s epistemology, focusing especially on his perspective on art and historical reflection.
Coming
Benjamin, Jewish Law, and the End of Capitalism
Benjamin argues that the violence of law emerges from its governing force and therefore from its ability to bind or impose itself. To this extent, the objective of my intervention is to frame a form of normativity that not only does not entail a binding power but that prohibits it as well.
Coming
Exonerating Marxism: Sacrifice without Telos
Benjamin devises a pure sacrificial ethos, devoid of the profanities of teleology. Benjamin’s account of sacrifice is saturated with emancipatory sacred dispositions.
Coming