Symbolic Forms and Cultural Studies: Ernst Cassirer’s Theory of Culture

by Cyrus Hamlin (Editor)

Cassirer thought of culture anthropologically as the entire complex of human modes of meaning and existence: it encompassed science, technology, language, and social life in addition to art, religion, and philosophy. This conception of culture and Cassirer’s theory of symbolism anticipated much of later cultural theory. In this collection of essays, eminent Cassirer scholars examine the many different aspects of his thinking on this subject and demonstrate how pioneering and important it is to cultural studies.

318 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2004

About the author

Cyrus Hamlin, Ph.D. (Yale, 1963; B.A., Harvard, 1958), was Professor Emeritus of German and Comparative Literature at Yale University, and was well-recognized for his contributions to the study of European Romanticism and literary theory. previously, he was Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto, 1970–1983. He was a descendant of General Cyrus Hamlin.