Intellectuals, Culture and Public Policy in France Approaches from the Left

French intellectuals have always defined themselves in political terms, typically as opponents to a corrupt governmentbut challenging state authority is not the only way intellectuals in France have exerted political influence. Jeremy Aherne invokes a neglected dimension of French intellectuals' practice, where instead of denouncing the worlds of government and public policy, French intellectuals become voluntarily entangled within them The book consists of a series of case studies exploring policy domains from religion and secularization to educational reform and the media. It explores the political engagement of intellectuals such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michel de Certeau, and Andre Malraux, and will be required reading for scholars of French political and social history.

Jeremy Ahearne is Professor of French Studies at the University of Warwick and author of Michel de Certeau: Interpretation and its Other (Polity Press, 1995) and French Cultural Policy Debates: A Reader (Routledge, 2002).