Walter Benjamin, the intellectual fugitive at the heart of Critical Theory (the most excoriated form of thinking today), famously held his work to be "theological." This annual seminar will dwell in the apparent paradox of the fact that the origins of secular criticism lie squarely in the domain of religion by reading various works of theory theologically, so to speak. In doing so, we will not be the "speaking about the divine," as Plato first construed it, but rather, as Benjamin says, to think in relation to theology "as blotting pad is related to ink," which would be to absorb it thoroughly. This saturation will be achieved through a close reading of important works of theory that have approached the matter of thinking from the standpoint of opposition to the secular, de-godded production of knowledge (as well as some that haven't). The theme this year will be "desire"; authors may include Agamben, Baldwin, Benjamin, Butler, Derrida, Deleuze/Guattari, Foucault, Zora Neale Hurston, Marion, and Tennessee Williams. Undergraduates register for RELIGST 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for RELIGST 300-level for 3-5 units.
3-5 units · Letter (ABCD/NP)
Walter Benjamin, the intellectual fugitive at the heart of Critical Theory (the most excoriated form of thinking today), famously held his work to be "theological." This annual seminar will dwell in the apparent paradox of the fact that the origins of secular criticism lie squarely in the domain of religion by reading various works of theory theologically, so to speak. In doing so, we will not be the "speaking about the divine," as Plato first construed it, but rather, as Benjamin says, to think in relation to theology "as blotting pad is related to ink," which would be to absorb it thoroughly. This saturation will be achieved through a close reading of important works of theory that have approached the matter of thinking from the standpoint of opposition to the secular, de-godded production of knowledge (as well as some that haven't). The theme this year will be "desire"; authors may include Agamben, Baldwin, Benjamin, Butler, Derrida, Deleuze/Guattari, Foucault, Zora Neale Hurston, Marion, and Tennessee Williams. Undergraduates register for 200-level for 5 units. Graduate students register for 300-level for 3-5 units.
Offered in Spring 2027 at Stanford University.