Benjamin discussion questions

1) What is the question (or questions) that Benjamin attempts to answer in his essay?

2) What are some of the assumptions that Benjamin makes about the "age of mechanical reproduction”?

3) What are some of the disciplinary methodologies that Benjamin calls upon in his essay? Describe his approach; cite examples (including page numbers).

4) If you would have to identify the principal mode of inquiry that Benjamin employs in this essay which one would it be: axiomatic, philosophic, observational/scientific, historical, interpretive/social scientific, imaginative expressive? What are some of the intellectual traditions he cites in this essay?

5) What evidence does Benjamin present to support his argument?

6) Do you think Benjamin's critique of the new age of mechanical reproduction can be brought to bear upon the current so-called "digital age"?