L’art, la Pensée, la Politique : un débat entre intellectuels français et américains, 1919-1922

Abstract

This paper examines the debates that divided American and French intellectuals between 1919 and 1922. After analyzing briefly the status of intellectuals before 1919, both in France and in the US, it focuses on the creation of international intellectual movements after World War one and highlights the conflicting view-points of American and French intellectuals. The paper finally tries to show that a new conception of the intellectuals' role made its way both in France and in the US in the early twenties, and assesses the part played by the war and the Russian revolution in these changes.