When Tony Judt died on August 6, 2010, whatever one felt about his work or his role as a public intellectual, it was difficult not to admire the man. In the face of a devastating illness he showed not only extraordinary courage but also an indomitable spirit. While his body disintegrated he continued to teach and then, when it ceased to function completely, he collected his thoughts and committed them to memory in order to have them reproduced on paper. Thus, as he lay inert in the last stages of his illness, he managed to produce both his memoirs (The Memory Chalet) and intellectual âtestamentâ (Ill Fares the Land ). Before his illness, however, when he aimed his darts at both political and intellectual âsacred cowsâ his courage often appeared as wrongheadedness. Intellectuals, scholars, and public figures were particularly divided about his stance on Israel and the attack he levelled against left-wing French intellectuals in his early works Past Imperfect and The Burden of Responsibility. For some, his analyses were cogent and insightful; for others, they appeared ideologically wayward. As a tribute to Judt the historian it seemed appropriate to organize a forum around the two works that triggered such disparate reactions. The four contributions, which form part of the third H-FranceâFrench Historical Studies salon, are by scholars with decidedly different views of Judtâs contribution to intellectual history in Past Imperfect and The Burden of Responsibility. We hope that this forum will stimulate the sort of debate in which Judt so enjoyed taking part. French Historical Studies, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Winter 2012)âDOI 10.1215/00161071-1424956 Copyright 2012 by Society for French Historical Studies
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Introduction
Lorcin, Patricia M. E.
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, Volume 35 (1)
Duke University Press – Dec 21, 2012
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