New book: The Archives of Critical Theory

The Archives of Critical Theory

ed. by Isabelle Aubert & Marcos Nobre

(Springer Verlag, 2023)

282 pages

Description

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt am Main, in 1923, this book aims at shedding light on the archives of some of the key thinkers of Critical Theory of Society, also well known as “Frankfurt School”. To pay homage to this current of thought, this contributed volume aims to make the archives speak for themselves, to show the public the quantity of unpublished material still existing by the authors of the Critical Theory which are now in funds in different parts of the world (in Germany, in Italy, or in the United States), and to show that Critical Theory remains alive 100 years after its inception.

The volume starts by presenting the archives of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the thinkers who inspired Critical Theory, and the archives of the Institute for Social Research itself. Then it dedicates separate sections to the archives of Walter Benjamin, Max Horkheimer, Theodor W. Adorno, Friedrich Pollock, Herbert Marcuse, Leo Löwenthal and Jürgen Habermas. The book is composed of chapters written by researchers and editors who worked in the different fonds, as well as chapters written by or interviews with researchers who were or are in charge of some of the archives, or who are especially familiar with the material.

Contents [preview]

Introduction: Researching the Archives of Critical Theory [preview] - Isabelle Aubert & Marcos Nobre 

Publishing Marx-Engels-Nachlass: Archive, Editions, and Theoretical Implications [preview] - Olavo Ximenes 

Into the Walter Benjamin Archive: An Interview with Ursula Marx - Fernando Bee

Benjamin Anarchivist - Antonin Wiser 

The Attitude of the German People: The Institute of Social Research Archive as Contemporary History - Dirk Braunstein & Maischa Gelhard 

The Role of Empirical Research in Theodor W. Adorno’s Thought: A Personal Experience at the Archive of the Institute for Social Research - Adriano Januário

Working on Cultural Memory: The Literary Estate of Max Horkheimer in the Frankfurt University Library - Gunzelin Schmid Noerr

The Material Part of Theory: The IfS Exile in Geneva and the Correspondence between Max Horkheimer & Juliette Favez - Olivier Voirol

Not Just Director, Methodologist, or Partner: A Brief History of the Reception of Horkheimer’s Work - Paulo Yamawake 

Adorno and the Archiving of the Ephemeral: Remarks on His Literary Estate - Michael Schwarz 

Adorno and the Post-war Artistic Debates: A Perspective Through the Archives - Raquel Patriota & Ricardo Lira da Silva 

T.W. Adorno, H. Becker, and the Challenges of Education in an “Administered World” (1955–1969): Unpublished Radio Conversations from the Theodor W. Adorno Archive - Aurélia Peyrical 

Symbiosis and Dispersion: The Friedrich Pollock Papers - Philipp Lenhard 

Leo Löwenthal and Herbert Marcuse: Analysis of the Enemy and Volumes from the Marcuse Archive - Peter-Erwin Jansen & Inka Engel 

Archive Beyond Files: A Brief Note on a Personal Experience in the Marcuse Archive - Inara Luisa Marin 

Critical Theory and Primary Source Research: Subjective Reflections on Working in the Herbert Marcuse and Max Horkheimer Archives - John Abromeit 

The Habermas Papers: An Interview with Roman Yos [preview] - Pedro Zan & Rafael Palazi 

Two Letters Between Jürgen Habermas and Karl-Otto Apel, Dated 1965: Comments on the Exchange - Roman Yos 

Letter from Jürgen Habermas to Herbert Marcuse, July 10, 1978: Translation of the Letter and Comment - Isabelle Aubert 

Appendix: Practical Information on the Archives [pdf]