Article,

Walter Benjamin's Radio Pedagogy

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Thesis Eleven, 142 (1): 18--33 (2017)
DOI: 10.1177/0725513617727891

Abstract

This paper investigates the unique educational relevancy of Walter Benjamin's radio broadcasts. While much has been written about Benjamin's approach to both children's literature and children's theatre, his own pedagogical practice as a radio pedagogue remains largely marginalized in these discussions. In order to address this gap in the literature, I focus on the implications of shifting from the largely visual world of children (celebrated in color illustrations) to the auditory world of radio. Through a careful reading of the radio scripts, I argue that a perceptual alteration unique to the sonic medium of radio jumpstarts historical thinking in children. The following pedagogical principles which I extract from the radio broadcasts support and enhance this mode of historical materialist education. In conclusion, the article argues for the ongoing relevancy of Benjamin for thinking through the pedagogical implications of new information technologies within a postmodern era such as podcasts.

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