Hi list. Can anyone direct me to who was the first person to explicitly make
the connection between the detective and the flâneur? Benjamin says the
flâneur is LIKE a detective in putting together the lives of those he
observes. But who was it who first made the jump from ‘like a detective’ to
‘IS a detective’? This is more than just semantics, as I’m arguing that
professional investigators – like private eyes, detectives and reporters –
are NOT flâneurs, since their JOB is to patrol the city. Flânerie is an
exclusively leisure activity, and therefore based within (Benjaminian
derived) discourses about class. Any help?

 

Dr. Mikel J. Koven

Lecturer, Dept of Theatre, Film and Television Studies

University of Wales, Aberystwyth

[log in to unmask]

http://users.aber.ac.uk/mik

 

 


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