After Year Zero. On Postwar German Thought
In this series of accessible lectures, Fredric Jameson explores German philosophy and critical theory as it developed in the wake of World War Two. Focusing on key thinkers — Horkheimer, Adorno, Heidegger, Habermas, Marcuse, Beuys, Enzensberger, Kluge, and Sloterdijk — Jameson weaves close readings of texts with anecdotes and aperçus to craft a narrative about the uses of theory. He delves into world-historical phenomena, such as the legacy of Nazism and the formation of the European Union, in a story that stretches from the postwar division of Germany to its reunification at the end of the Cold War.
After Year Zero is a vital account of the German critical tradition, as understood by the “most significant Marxist thinker in American culture.”