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University of Denver

Philosophical Sundials: Adorno and the Lyric

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>This dissertation consists of two distinct parts. The first investigates the theory of the lyric in the work of Theodor W. Adorno. The second entails an engagement with that theory through a collection of original lyric poems. The three case studies of the critical apparatus track how it is that Adorno’s conception of the lyric serves as a metonymic cipher for his work as a whole, one which reemphasizes and remediates several key concepts in his thinking.</p> <p>After a brief introduction, the first of these chapters approaches Adorno’s notion of the subject-object dialectic through the lens of his own attempts at writing lyric poetry. The second addresses the metaphysical remainder in Adorno’s materialist philosophy alongside the wartime poetics of Wallace Stevens, paying special attention to Adorno’s famous dictum against poetry after Auschwitz. The third chapter attempts to outline the appearance of a paradoxical “inverse” theology at the heart of Adorno’s thinking by reading it through the lyric of Ingeborg Bachmann.</p> <p>As a kind of master star map to the constellation herein, both this suite of investigations and the poems that follow pay special attention to figures of thought which aporically survives their own negation, historically, theoretically, and poetically.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph.D.
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation
Year
2024

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Kovalenko, George
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Graham Foust
  • R. D. Perry
  • Clark Davis
  • Sarah Pessin

Subjects

dc:subject × 9

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • <p>Copyright is held by the author. This work may only be accessed by members of the University of Denver community. The work is provided by permission of the author for individual research purposes only and may not be further copied or distributed. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.</p>
Language dc:language
English (eng)

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/restrictedetd/108
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:digitalcommons.du.edu:restrictedetd-1108

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Denver
Base URL
digitalcommons.du.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Kovalenko, George. Philosophical Sundials: Adorno and the Lyric. Dissertation thesis, 2024. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/restrictedetd/108