Comparative Literature 2094 (Spring 2024) Elam

Midterm Prompts

Choose one of the three prompts below and write a short essay (approx. 2500-word) that
responds to its concerns.

1. What is a ‘phantasmagoria’? What does it mean in The Arcades Project? Why is it

important for Benjamin? Describe ‘phantasmagoria’ as an historical description of
Paris and as a theoretical approach for Benjamin’s project. What is the relationship
between early photography and phantasmagoria? What is the relationship between
dreaming and phantasmagoria? What do these foci/concepts/terms, taken
together, reveal about mid-nineteenth century Paris (for Benjamin)?

2. Choose one thesis from Benjamin’s ‘Theses on the Philosophy of History’ and explain
it fully, on its own terms. This includes framing its argument in your own words,
explaining the references/allusions it makes (if any), and the terms it uses. You do
not need to explain the thesis’s relationship to other theses in Benjamin’s essay,
unless the relationship helps explicate the thesis’s concerns.

3. Drawing on the readings in the course so far, find two distinct uses of the word/term
‘critique’ (in English). The two distinct uses can be from two separate writers, from
two separate texts by the same writer, or from two parts of a single text. Explain
what the word means in the two specific contexts, and then compare (and/or
contrast) the two uses of the word. Do these two uses align with the term’s use
more broadly within the German philosophical tradition? If so, explain how. If not,
explain how this specific use is different.

While writing these prompts, I relied on the following texts:

Prompt 1: Susan Buck Morss, The Dialectics of Seeing
Prompt 2: Michael Löwy, Fire Alarm
Prompt 3: Peter Uwe Hohendahl, The Institution of Criticism

These are difficult prompts. Your answer should rely on textual evidence but should also
take chances and make bold arguments. You are not required to use texts beyond the ones
that we have discussed in class, but I encourage you to use any scholarship that supports
you and your work (including the texts I’ve cited above). For course texts, simply note the
page number after the quotation; for other texts, use a consistent citation style of your
choice.

Please submit your essay (as DOCX or PDF) by email (jdelam@hku.hk) by 17 HKT on 08
March 2024. I am happy to meet over Zoom if you have any questions. You can arrange a
time that works for you via the app: jdelam.as.me