Walter Benjamin's two essays that begin his monumental Passagen-Werk
(Arcades Project), "Paris, die Hauptstadt des XIX. Jahrhunderts"
and "Paris, Capitale du XIXème Siècle" (which in spite
of their similar titles are two distinct essays), and the notes that constitute
the rest of the Arcades project, attempt to elucidate the questions of modernity
through a focus on one particular city and its development through the 19th
century.
Just as Benjamin locates many of the events that shape not only the 19th but
the 20th century in this locale, believing that one must look to the past to
understand the present and the future, so I believe that a similar focus on
Benjamin's city of origin, Berlin, in the 20th century, will help elucidate
the events facing us today and the challenges of the 21st century.
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