French Intellectuals and Politics from the Dreyfus Affair to the Occupation

A companion volume to Drake's Intellectuals and Politics in Post-War France (2002), French Intellectuals from the Dreyfus Affair to the Occupation traces the political positions adopted by French writers and artists from the end of the 19th century to the Liberation. Drawing on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, it offers a clear and accessible analysis of the intellectuals' engagement with nationalism, pacifism, communism, anti-communism, surrealism, fascism and anti-fascism, which is located within the evolving national and international context of the period. Cultural and historical accounts of the public intellectual and French feminism have been remiss in their failure to recognise an important group of major women intellectuals in France. In particular, studies of French feminism and public intellectuals have overlooked the contribution of notable figures such as Françoise Parturier, Gisèle Halimi and Elisabeth Badinter amongst many others which has necessarily had a detrimental effect on discourses about the gendered phenomenon of the public intellectual in France. By studying the work of these neglected intellectuals alongside those of more recognised women thinkers such as Assia Djebar, Marguerite Duras and Annie Ernaux, this book aims to provide a much broader picture of the activities, both political and literary, of female key public in the aftermath of May 1968. By exploring the relationship between their interventions in the public sphere and their creative work it throws new light on the reasons for their omission in standard theoretical and empirical work on the French intellectual. In so doing, this book offers a cultural and theoretical re-evaluation of the gendered phenomenon of the public intellectual in France, as such it is important reading to students and scholars of French Feminism and French public intellectuals more generally "The past decade of French politics was marked by a rise of social movements that articulated new struggles and expressed changing demands. The new movements gave voice and representation to groups that had been marginalised by political institutions and excluded from mainstream society. Sarah Waters explores a 'new generation of movements' within French political life and seeks to examine their meaning and significance. The outstanding feature of these movements is that they share a strong civic dimension, affirming and defending the rights of different groups in society. These are movements about citizenship and about the rights that this notion entails. Far from being new, French movements reveal ongoing civic processes whereby marginalised groups at particular points in history have mobilised collectively to affirm their rights. Contemporary movements seek to redefine the nature of citizenship so that it reflects the changing social realities of France today."--Jacket This accessible and readable account analyses the political stances adopted by French writers and artists from the end of the nineteenth century to the Liberation. Opening with the 'Birth of the Intellectuals' during the Dreyfus Affair in the 1890s, it traces the political commitment of French intellectuals through World War One, and their subsequent responses to communism, pacifism, surrealism, the rise of fascism and the Occupation. It is a companion volume to Drake's Intellectuals and Politics in Post-War France (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002) and will be of interest to students of French cultural and intellectual history "What did French intellectuals have to say about Gaullism, the Cold War, colonialism, the women's movements, and the events of May 1968? David Drake examines the political commitment of intellectuals in France from Sartre and Camus to Bernard-Henri Levy and Bourdieu. In this accessible study, he explores why there was a radical reassessment of the intellectual's role in the mid-1970s - 80s and how a new generation engages with Islam, racism, the Balkan wars and the strikes of 1995."--BOOK JACKET. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-7 The Dreyfus Affair and the Birth of the ‘Intellectuals’....Pages 8-34 From ‘Republican Defence’ to Defence of the Patrie....Pages 35-66 The 1920s: French Intellectuals and Pacifism, Communism, Surrealism and Nationalism....Pages 67-102 Fascism, Anti-fascism, Communism, Anti-communism and Pacifism....Pages 103-148 The Occupation 1940–44: Collaborationism, Collaboration and Resistance....Pages 149-186 Back Matter....Pages 187-214 This volume traces the political positions adopted by French writers and artists from the end of the nineteenth century to the Liberation. Drawing on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, it offers a clear and accessible analysis of the intellectuals' engagement with nationalism, pacifism, communism, anti-communism, surrealism, fascism and anti-fascism, which is located within the evolving national and international context of the period Accounts Of Public Intellectuals In France And French Feminism Have Focused On A Specific Set Of Women Thinkers Overlooking Some Major Women Intellectuals. This Book Aims Redresses This Balance By Studying These Forgotten Intellectuals Creating A Cultural And Theoretical Re-evaluation Of The Gendered Phenomenon Of The Public Intellectual In France. This text discusses the issues and strategies which have characterized the environmental campaigns mounted against recent controversial infrastructure projects in France. It looks at why some protests succeed where others fail and at the relationship between states and social movements David Drake examines the political commitment of intellectuals in France from Sartre and Camus to Bernard Henri Levy and Bourdieu