12. Jahrgang, Dezember 2003 / Januar 2004, Nr. 6

Jan Philipp Reemtsma
Der Traum von der Ich-Ferne. Adornos literarische Aufsätze

(Summary: As well genetically as systematically Adorno’s interpretation of literary texts belongs to his reconstruction of a »dialectics of enlightenment«. Literature is by its own nature anti-mythical. The historical development of the modern novel however demonstrates that fiction remains dominated by the constraints of this dialectical process. According to Adorno the fate of this genre and the evolution of modern poetry announce an end of literature as it is reflected upon especially in his readings of Beckett and Celan. But the consistency of Adorno’s claim not only depends on a highly selective notion of modern literature but also on his methodological prerequisite of reducing literary expression to discursive texts. It is this presumption which undercuts Adorno’s own effort to rescue the peculiaritiy of literature in philosophical terms.)

Dominik Schrage
Integration durch Attraktion. Konsumismus als massenkulturelles Weltverhältnis

(Summary: Mass consumption has often been conceived as the way socially organized individuals acquire material or cultural goods. The specific structure of ›mass‹ emerging with the intertwining of market society and mass media, however, is not characterized by an inherently socialized collective, but instead by individuals dispersed in space and integrated by access to the market (the consumers) and by technically communicated meaning (the public). Seen thus, mass consumption is a medium of social integration. The attractiveness of the new, that is, the wish to consume and to communicate becomes a fundamental prerequisite for this form of loose integration. The emergence of this predisposition can be observed in the semantic shift from »need« to «desire« that has accompanied the transformations of social structures since the 18th century.)

In der Literaturbeilage:
Christian Schneider
Atempausen und Schlupflöcher. Theodor Adornos Briefe an die Eltern

In jeder Ausgabe:
Wolfgang Kraushaar: Aus der Protest-Chronik
Nachrichten aus dem Institut