'This is the first work in a generation that presents a comprehensive overview of Weimar culture with all its complexity and contradictions. That feat is impressive and valuable.'- Choice hese intellectual histories are not very connected to context, providing instead effective overviews and suggesting some new ways to consider intellectual giants of the 20th century. 'This sophisticated compendium of 19 essays by leading scholars in history, cultural studies, political science, and philosophy attempts to address the complexity, importance, and legacy of one of the 20th century's most important eras of intellectual activity.

Its innovative methodological outlook and its numerous field-specific interventions make Weimar Thought an indispensible resource for any future studies of the epoch.'-Dennis Johanssen, German Quarterly 'By seeking understanding and refraining from evaluative synthesis, every contribution in this volume prompts the reader to reflect on lessons of Weimar in light of the present social, political, and cultural situation. Whether used as an introductory companion or advanced scholarly resource, Weimar Thought provides insight into the rich developments behind the intellectual foundations of modernity. The volume brings together established and emerging scholars from a remarkable array of fields, and each individual essay serves as an overview for a particular discipline while offering distinctive critical engagement with relevant problems and debates. The book is divided into four thematic sections: law, politics, and society philosophy, theology, and science aesthetics, literature, and film and general cultural and social themes of the Weimar period. In this incomparable collection, Weimar Thought presents both the specialist and the general reader a comprehensive guide and unified portrait of the most important innovators, themes, and trends of this fascinating period. Even today, the Weimar era remains a vital resource for new intellectual movements.

Leading intellectuals, scholars, and critics-such as Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Ernst Bloch, Bertolt Brecht, and Martin Heidegger-emerged during this time to become the foremost thinkers of the twentieth century. During its short lifespan, the Weimar Republic (1918–33) witnessed an unprecedented flowering of achievements in many areas, including psychology, political theory, physics, philosophy, literary and cultural criticism, and the arts.

Weimar Thought by Peter E. Gordon