The Flaneur

Timely and original, this collection of essays from the leading figures in their fields throws new and valuable light on the significance and future of flânerie. The flâneur is usually identified as the 'man of the crowd' of Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Baudelaire, and as one of the heroes of Walter Benjamin's Arcades Project. The flâneur's activities of strolling and loitering are mentioned increasingly frequently in sociology, cultural studies and art history, but rarely is the debate developed further. The Flâneur is the first book to develop the debate beyond Baudelaire and Benjamin, and to push it in unexpected and exciting directions.

Keith Tester

1. Introduction Keith Tester 2. The Flâneur On and Off the Streets of Paris Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson 3. The Flâneur: From Spectator to Representation Bruce Mazlish 4. Fancy Footwork: Walter Benjamin's Notes on Flânerie Rob Shields 5. The Flâneur in Social Theory David Frisby 6. The Artist and the Flâneur: Rodin, Rilke and Gwen John in Paris Janet Wolff 7. Desert Spectacular Zygmunt Bauman 8. Digesting the Modern Diet: Gastor-porn, Fast Food and Panic Eating Barry Smart 9. The Hopeless Game of Flânerie Stefan Morawski