Date: Sat, 25 Apr 98 16:21:18 EDT
From: Anthony Alessandrini <aalessan-AT-eden.rutgers.edu>
Subject: Re: homogeneous empty...


In response to Ed's last question: this may be where Benjamin becomes
important (he certainly is a key figure for Bhabha), since I don't think he
does see homogenous, empty time as natural but in fact as a particular way of
seeing the world which can be fought--as he says, the job of the materialist
historian is to break particular fragments of time free of the continuum of
history. In other words, the concept of time itself becomes a battleground.
I'm not putting this terribly well, but the key text would be Benjamin's
"Theses on the Philosphy of History"; he also has an essay on translation
which has influenced Bhabha--both of these are in the collection called
ILLUMINATIONS. Also, Peter Osborne's book THE POLITICS OF TIME might be of
interest.

Best wishes,

Tony Alessandrini



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