Walter Benjamin, a Methodological Contribution

This article examines the work and philosophy of Walter Benjamin as an important source of information for international relations (IR) and International Political Sociology (IPS) scholars, particularly in light of his methodological contributions, which could provide important ground for movements such as the aesthetic turn in IR and everyday life/popular culture studies within IR and IPS. Benjamin's contributions are examined in light of his most controversial, albeit unfinished, project— The Arcades Project , a recently published volume that focuses on a selection of documents from the Benjamin archive; and a study by Howard Caygill on Benjamin's attempt to create a "new philosophy," and along with it, a new methodology for studying "experience." The article focuses on three main elements that stand at the basis of Benjamin's unique methodology: (1) his process of selecting the object of study; (2) his treatment of temporality and processes of change/history; and (3) his focus on the visual as key to escaping the limitations of traditional "philosophical" text.