Who we are:

The Internationale Walter Benjamin Gesellschaft is an interdisciplinary consortium of academics, writers, media theoreticians, publishers and representatives from other cultural and social areas. The members of the society come from 19 countries, both within and beyond Europe.
The Society is registered in Karlsruhe (Germany); Chairman of the Board of Directors is Bernd Witte, an internationally recognized Benjamin scholar and Professor of Modern German Literature in Düsseldorf (Germany).

Our Goals:

The IWBG represents an international forum for discourse. The Society supports research endeavors devoted to the creative and visionary potential of Benjamin’s works and their view of 20th century modernism. Special emphasis has been placed upon strengthening academic ties to Latin America and Eastern and Central Europe.

In keeping with its goals the Society would like

  • to elicit interdisciplinary dialog on Benjamin’s works, their reception and their validity today
  • to trace the changing role of the individual in society, especially the intellectual, in order to reflect critically on future concepts
  • to research the interrelationship of history, memory and cultural traditions as mirrored in their social and political evolution
  • the shed light upon the past and present of exile and emigration, including the social and political function of old and new borders
  • to analyze the development of art and culture within the global media network
  • to document the social and economic effects of differing access to information flow and information technology
  • to foster discussion on basic political questions.

Activities

The society conducts conferences and exhibitions, as well as interdisciplinary and intermedial events, at regular intervals and different European venues. All activities are conducted conjointly with partner institutions.

History:

  • Society founded in Karlsruhe – Mai 2000
  • Barcelona Conference – September 2000
  • Walter-Benjamin-Abend in Berlin – November 2001
  • Walter-Benjamin-Abend in Karlsruhe – January 2003
  • Rome Conference – November 2003
  • Zurich Conference – October 2004
  • Paris Conference – June 2005
  • Düsseldorf Conference – June 2005
  • Düsseldorf Conference – November 2005
  • Antwerpen Conference – May 2006
  • Vienna Conference – March 2007

 

 

 

Membership
We cordially invite you to become a member of the IWBS
An application form (as a PDF-File) has been made available for easy downloading; however, you will require an Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Simply print out the application form and return it at your leisure to our office by fax or mail.