Intellectuals in Politics and Academia: Culture in the Age of Hype (Political Philosophy and Public Purpose)

This book addresses the fate of intellectuals in modern culture and politics. Russell Jacoby’s seminal The Last Intellectuals: American Culture in the Age of Academe (1987, 2000) introduced the term “public intellectual” and gave rise to heated controversy. Here Jacoby assesses contemporary public intellectuals, their profound failings and limited achievements. The book includes biting appraisals of well-known intellectuals, such as Noam Chomsky, Hannah Arendt, and Bernard-Henri Lévy, as well as interventions on violence, utopia and multiculturalism. Preface Contents The Mission of Intellectuals After The Last Intellectuals Irresponsible Intellectuals? Academic Conceits The Myth of Multiculturalism Post-Colonialism and the Marginality Industry Publishing On Diversity Campus Reports The Cult of Complications Professional Amnesia The Fate of Freud Notes Assessments Isaiah Berlin: With the Current Bernard-Henri Lévy: Leftist Fabulist Sartre and Camus: French Public Intellectuals Hannah Arendt: Philosopher or New York Intellectual? Jonathan Franzen: The Last Viennese Intellectual? Notes Appreciations Christopher Hitchens Randolph Bourne Christopher Lasch Paul Piccone Daniel Bell C. Wright Mills Strictures A Sociologist on Utopia An English Professor on Liberal Intellectuals A Literary Critic on Academic Careers Myths About Utopia and Violence Utopia and the Myth of Violence Violence and the Myth of the Other Notes Enlightenment in the Age of Hype A Falling Rate of Intelligence? Notes Index This book addresses the fate of intellectuals in modern culture and politics. Russell Jacobys seminal The Last Intellectuals: American Culture in the Age of Academe (1987, 2000) introduced the term "public intellectual" and gave rise to heated controversy. Here Jacoby assesses contemporary public intellectuals, their profound failings and limited achievements. The book includes biting appraisals of well-known intellectuals, such as Noam Chomsky, Hannah Arendt, and Bernard-Henri Levy, as well as interventions on violence, utopia and multiculturalism. Russell Jacoby is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of California, USA, and the author of the author of nine books, including Repression of Psychoanalysis (1983), Bloodlust (2011), and most recently On Diversity (2020)