Introduction: Intellectuals, Nationalisms, and European Identity

Abstract

Introduction:Intellectuals, Nationalisms, and European Identity Richard J. Golsan This special issue of South Central Review addresses a number of important, timely, and interrelated questions concerning the past, present, and future of Europe and the idea of the intellectual. These questions fall essentially into three categories. First, what is "Europe," and what is a "European," especially at the present time? How might one define or characterize a "European identity," now as well as in the past and future? What are the constitutive elements of such an identity? Is "Europe" in fact a tangible reality? Or is it rather a destructive illusion (as in its conception and exploitation by the Nazis), or, conversely, an ideal to which the peoples of the continent should aspire? Second, what is "nationalism" in the European context, and how might one define "nationhood" within the framework of the European Union and the Europe of today? Within this context, how might one characterize nationalist sentiments and patriotism in Europe? By way of contrast, how are these notions conceived and understood in contemporary Europe as opposed to the United States, for example? Certainly these concepts have undergone extraordinary changes during recent years, not only as a consequence of the creation of the EU but also as a result of the horrors perpetrated by extreme forms of nationalism in Europe over the last century. The European cataclysm brought about by Nazism comes first to mind, of course, but one should not forget that similar horrors on a smaller scale were perpetrated in the former Yugoslavia less than twenty years ago. The recent arrest of the Serbian nationalist extremist leader Radovan Karadzic on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity is a grim reminder of this all-too-recent past. A third and final series of questions clusters around the role, function, and definition of the intellectual and, more generally, the artist in the European context, past, present, and future. What role have intellectuals and politically committed artists played in shaping national identity and culture—what role have they played in defining "nationhood" ? Along similar lines, what roles have intellectuals and artists played in defining "Europe," as it existed or exists now? What is the "responsibility" of the artist and intellectual, not only in the democratic Europe of today, but [End Page 1] under the repressive, nationalistic, and even totalitarian regimes of the recent past? Finally, given that the very idea of the intellectual is linked historically as well as in the present to the idea of the nation, and that the traditional notion of the "nation" in Europe is changing rapidly under, among other things, the imposition of a "European identity," what is the role of the "intellectual" today? What will it be tomorrow? Will the intellectual eventually become extinct, or be transformed by events and circumstances into something very different? Among the intellectuals, writers, and artists discussed in this issue are Karl Marx and Thomas Mann from the German context, Albert Camus, Michel Foucault, Etienne Balibar, and Pierre-Andé Taguieff from the French context, the Italian architect Giusseppi Taragni, and the Czech writer and intellectual Milan Kundera. Other important figures including Paul Valéry, Denis de Rougemont, and Maurice Barrès are discussed as well. In addition to thanking the outstanding scholars who have contributed to this issue, we wish to express our gratitude to two distinguished European "public intellectuals" for offering their insights on the important issues addressed here. These are of course Tzvetan Todorov and Pascal Bruckner, both of whom have generously contributed their work to South Central Review before. This issue is dedicated to the memory of Walter A. Strauss, Treuhaft Professor Emeritus of the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University. Many of us knew Walter professionally, and some of us were fortunate enough to have Walter as a mentor and friend at formative and even crucial moments of our careers and our lives. In every way Walter embodied the ideal of European culture at its richest and very best. Walter was also a man of extraordinary intellectual curiosity, and we would like to think that this issue would have been of special interest to him. Thank you, Walter. Richard J. Golsan Texas A&amp...