“Constellation” and “Mimesis”: A conceptual analysis of Walter Benjamin’s influence on Theodor W. Adorno

Walter Benjamin’s influence on Theodor W. Adorno is often narrativized through the latter’s early work, whereby Adorno is seen as Benjamin’s “disciple” in the 1930s before transitioning beyond this early phase. I seek to complicate this narrative through an investigation of the terms “constellation” and “mimesis,” both of which appear prominently in Benjamin’s work before being repurposed by Adorno.