This dissertation explores critiques of mass education alongside the rise of the research university as they appear in the early writings of Friedrich Nietzsche and Walter Benjamin. More specifically, it traces the development of a theory of (un)learning that inserts distance into the pedagogical relation to produce a discretized educational community. By situating Nietzsche’s lectures "Über die Zukunft unserer Bildungsanstalten" (1872)—and his critique of the learning practices (written and oral)—within his concepts of perspectivism and the pathos of distance, I show how this theory served as a guide for Benjamin and his engagement with the educational reform activities of the German Youth Movement. Ultimately, I demonstrate how a conflict in Nietzsche’s theory is given an inventive solution in Benjamin’s work which turns this undemocratic critique into a revolutionary program for all.

Creator

• Laport, Theodore F.

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-5kwz-cc35

Subject

• German literature
• Philosophy

Language

• en

Alternate Identifier

• etdadmin_upload_1013555
• http://dissertations.umi.com/northwestern:16750

Keyword

• Bildung
• Nietzsche
• Education
• Benjamin
• Youth Movement
• Pathos of Distance

Date created

• 2023-01-01

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright