After Year Zero: On Postwar German Thought

by Fredric Jameson, Carson Welch (Editor)

Jameson's legendary lectures on German thought, brought together in one volume for the first time.

In this series of accessible lectures, Fredric Jameson explores German philosophy and critical theory as it developed in the wake of World War II. Focussing in on key thinkers such as Horkheimer, Adorno, Heidegger, Habermas, Marcuse, Beuys, Enzensberger, Kluge, Sloterdijk and RosaJameson weaves close readings of texts with anecdotes to craft a story about the uses of theory from the postwar division of Germany to its reunification at the end of the Cold War. Ranging from the legacy of Nazism to the formation of the EU, After Year Zero is an indispensable account of the German critical tradition’s past and future, as seen by the “most significant Marxist thinker in American culture.”

304 pages, Paperback

Expected publication September 15, 2026

About the author

Fredric Jameson was an American literary critic, philosopher and Marxist political theorist. He was best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends, particularly his analysis of postmodernity and capitalism. Jameson's best-known books include Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (1991) and The Political Unconscious (1981).