The Dialectical Image in Opposition to Historicist Narratives

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30973/esdi.2025.11.2.242

Keywords:

Historical materialism, Walter Benjamin, Critical Theory, Philosophy of History

Abstract

Some of the claims of historicism as a historical stance —as typified by Walter Benjamin in his “Theses on the Concept of History”— include the construction of a progressive, linear and neutral narrative of history. It is taken for granted that historical episodes are like beads on a string, capable of being separated and studied in isolation, without any relational context. This article critically examines historicism’s demand for neutrality as a prerequisite for turning the narration of events into true history. In contrast, it proposes the dialectical image as a wager on an alternative means of historically articulating the past.

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References

Benjamin, Walter. Libro de los pasajes. Akal, 2016.

Benjamin, Walter. Tesis sobre la historia y otros fragmentos. UACM/Ítaca, 2008.

Cuesta, Abad José Manuel. Juegos de duelo. La historia según Walter Benjamin. Abada, 2004.

Echeverría, Bolívar. El discurso crítico de Marx. Fondo de cultura Económica/Ítaca, 2017.

Lorde, Audre, La hermana, la extranjera. horas y HORAS la editorial, 2003.

Marx, Karl y F. Engels. La ideología alemana. Ediciones Pueblos Unidos, 1973.

Zea, Leopoldo, comp. Quinientos años de historia, sentido y proyección, Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1991.

Portadilla del artículo La imagen dialéctica frente al relato historicista

Published

2025-12-24

How to Cite

Sierra Ruiz, P. “The Dialectical Image in Opposition to Historicist Narratives”. DISCOURSE STUDIES, vol. 11, no. 2, Dec. 2025, pp. 1-16, doi:10.30973/esdi.2025.11.2.242.