Five scholars from the United States and Germany will discuss the work of the early 20th-century philosopher Walter Benjamin at a conference at UCSB on Dec. 1. The one-day event, “Eye or Ear: Walter Benjamin on Optical and Acoustical Media,” is free and the public is invited to attend any or all five lectures.

Sponsored by the Department of Germanic, Slavic, and Semitic Studies, the conference will investigate the relationship between three aspects of Benjamin’s work: his language theory, media theory, and radio praxis. It starts at 10:30 a.m. in the McCune Conference Room in the Humanities and Social Sciences Building 6020. A reception ends the day at 5:15 p.m.

“He was one of the most influential critical voices of 20th-century European thought,” Elisabeth Weber, UCSB professor and chair of Germanic, Slavic and Semitic studies, said of Benjamin. “His work is extremely important for literary studies, film and media theory, translation studies, and is read all over the world.”

For information about the conference, visit <www.gss.ucsb.edu/Benjamin.html>.