The Location of the Public Intellectual: Historical and Contemporary Analyses

Abstract

This chapter engages in a long view of the identification of the public intellectual as someone who should elevate the quality of public life through their knowledge, and selectively through their analytical and activist contributions to society’s prevailing debates. With this in mind, public intellectuals could include individuals who, professionally or otherwise, are found either in universities or in settings where they could be accorded this label through their academic accomplishments, artistic or literary achievements, or through other accomplishments including accumulated wisdom or community development qualities that distinguish them from others. The chapter suggests select ways of re-aligning the role of the public intellectual with the public, thus potentially reviving the desirable and actively inclusive public interactions that should enhance our overall existentialities and relationships.