Thinking against the grain : the legacy of Walter Benjamin's philosophy of history

In my talk I will focus on Walter Benjamin's conception of history as it has been developed especially in the "Theological-Political Fragment" (1920-1921) and in the "Theses on the Concept of History" (1940). I will argue that in these texts Benjamin faces the limits of traditional European philosophy by using a new language (mixing historical materialism and religious messianic discourse) and by opening at the same time the philosophical discourse to a new encounter with politics and the true practice of history. Particularly, I will show how Benjamin tries to suggest new ways to rethink the philosophical commitment of historians. On the other side, I will explore the reception of Benjamin's idea by showing how behind the analysis of some historians that worked around the half of the XX century (Scholem, Ginzburg) we can trace the influence of Benjamin's "Theses". I will thus prove how Benjamin's philosophical legacy finally pervaded the concrete activity of historians precisely due to its attempt to overcome the boundaries of western traditional thought.