The anthropological turn : French political thought after 1968

A close look at post-1968 French thinkers Régis Debray, Emmanuel Todd, Marcel Gauchet, and Alain de Benoist In The Anthropological Turn , Jacob Collins traces the development of what he calls a tradition of "political anthropology" in France over the course of the 1970s. After the social revolution of the 1960s brought new attention to identities and groups that had previously been marginal in French society, the country entered a period of stagnation: the economy slowed, the political system deadlocked, and the ideologies of communism and Catholicism lost their appeal. In this time of political, cultural, and economic indeterminacy, political anthropology, as Collins defines it, offered social theorists grand narratives that could give greater definition to "the social" by anchoring its laws and histories in the deep and sometimes archaic past. Political anthropologists sought to answer the most basic of questions: what is politics and what constitutes a political community? Collins focuses on four influential, yet typically overlooked, French thinkers—Régis Debray, Emmanuel Todd, Marcel Gauchet, and Alain de Benoist —who, from Left to far Right, represent different political leanings in France. Through a close and comprehensive reading of their work, he explores how key issues of religion, identity, citizenship, and the state have been conceptualized and debated across a wide spectrum of opinion in contemporary France. Collins argues that the stakes have not changed since the 1970s and rival conceptions of the republic continue to vie for dominance. Political and cultural issues of the moment—the burkini, for example—become magnified and take on the character of an anthropological threat. In this respect, he shows how the anthropological turn, as it figures in the work of Debray, Todd, Gauchet, and Benoist, is a useful lens for viewing the political and social controversies that have shaped French history for the last forty years.

A close look at post-1968 French thinkers Régis Debray,Emmanuel Todd, Marcel Gauchet, and Alain de Benoist

In The Anthropological Turn, Jacob Collins traces thedevelopment of what he calls a tradition of "politicalanthropology" in France over the course of the 1970s. After thesocial revolution of the 1960s brought new attention to identitiesand groups that had previously been marginal in French society, thecountry entered a period of stagnation: the economy slowed, thepolitical system deadlocked, and the ideologies of communism andCatholicism lost their appeal. In this time of political, cultural,and economic indeterminacy, political anthropology, as Collinsdefines it, offered social theorists grand narratives that couldgive greater definition to "the social" by anchoring its laws andhistories in the deep and sometimes archaic past.

Political anthropologists sought to answer the most basic ofquestions: what is politics and what constitutes a politicalcommunity? Collins focuses on four influential, yet typicallyoverlooked, French thinkers-Régis Debray, Emmanuel Todd, MarcelGauchet, and Alain de Benoist -who, from Left to far Right,represent different political leanings in France. Through a closeand comprehensive reading of their work, he explores how key issuesof religion, identity, citizenship, and the state have beenconceptualized and debated across a wide spectrum of opinion incontemporary France.

Collins argues that the stakes have not changed since the 1970sand rival conceptions of the republic continue to vie fordominance. Political and cultural issues of the moment-the burkini,for example-become magnified and take on the character of ananthropological threat. In this respect, he shows how theanthropological turn, as it figures in the work of Debray, Todd,Gauchet, and Benoist, is a useful lens for viewing the politicaland social controversies that have shaped French history for thelast forty years.

A close look at post-1968 French thinkers Regis Debray, Emmanuel Todd, Marcel Gauchet, and Alain de Benoist0In The Anthropological Turn, Jacob Collins traces the development of what he calls a tradition of "political anthropology" in France over the course of the 1970s. After the social revolution of the 1960s brought new attention to identities and groups that had previously been marginal in French society, the country entered a period of stagnation: the economy slowed, the political system deadlocked, and the ideologies of communism and Catholicism lost their appeal. In this time of political, cultural, and economic indeterminacy, political anthropology, as Collins defines it, offered social theorists grand narratives that could give greater definition to "the social" by anchoring its laws and histories in the deep and sometimes archaic past. Political anthropologists sought to answer the most basic of questions: what is politics and what constitutes a political community? Collins focuses on four influential, yet typically overlooked, French thinkers-Regis Debray, Emmanuel Todd, Marcel Gauchet, and Alain de Benoist -who, from Left to far Right, represent different political leanings in France. Through a close and comprehensive reading of their work, he explores how key issues of religion, identity, citizenship, and the state have been conceptualized and debated across a wide spectrum of opinion in contemporary France. Collins argues that the stakes have not changed since the 1970s and rival conceptions of the republic continue to vie for dominance. Political and cultural issues of the moment-the burkini, for example-become magnified and take on the character of an anthropological threat. In this respect, he shows how the anthropological turn, as it figures in the work of Debray, Todd, Gauchet, and Benoist, is a useful lens for viewing the political and social controversies that have shaped French history for the last forty years "The Anthropological Turn: French Political Thought After 1968 is a history of contemporary political and social ideas in France. The central chapters are devoted to four thinkers who have been overlooked in historical scholarship, but whose intellectual systems could not be understood without reference to Lévi-Strauss, Durkheim, Dumézil, Bourdieu, and others. It seeks, along with the above-named histories, to give a contextualized account of French political thought not only to explain the ideas of four different thinkers but also to show how they were conceptualized and received in France's public sphere"-- Provided by publisher Cover Contents Introduction: France in the 1970s and the Making of Political Anthropology Chapter 1. Toward a White Nationalist Europe: The Archaic Fantasies of Alain de Benoist Chapter 2. Marcel Gauchet and the Anthropology of the State Chapter 3. Family Ties: The Anthropology of Emmanuel Todd and the Identity of France Chapter 4. Tracking the Sacred: The Political Anthropology of Régis Debray Conclusion Notes Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z Acknowledgments