Public Intellectuals: An Endangered Species

(Paperback)

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Description

Public Intellectuals: An Endangered Species investigates the definition, role, and decline of public intellectuals in American society. Drawing from a wide range of commentaries and studies, this edited volume demonstrates the unique importance of public intellectuals and probes the timely question of how their voices can continue to be effective in our ever-changing social, academic and political climates. At a time when many argue that public intellectuals are dying out, the book addresses questions such as who qualifies as a public intellectual Have their ranks thinned out and their qualities diminished What is that special service that public intellectuals are supposed to render for the body politic And, above all, is society being shortchanged

Reviews

Public Intellectuals collects many of the finest essays produced on this topic in recent decades, and Etzioni's Introduction brings clarity to a topic that is all too often the victim of partisanship, vague impressions, and unreliable statistics. Anyone interested in the unique role of intellectuals with public voices will profit from this volume. -- William A. Galston, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Scholars of all types will find material of interest. Personal favorites include Lewis Coser's discussion of intellectuals as celebrities, Theodore Draper's essay on intellectuals in politics, Joseph Epstein's reflections on public intellectuals in the 1950s and 1960s and the Basic Book forum on the future of public intellectuals. -- 2007 * Political Studies Review *
Amitai Etzioni is one of America's most creative public intellectuals, and this collection of articles will be an important challenge to the many in academia who use their brilliant talents to address trivia and the many in the media who address important issues but without the level of intellectual sophistication that Etzioni and the other writers in this collection bring to the table. -- Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor, Tikkun

Author Bio

Amitai Etzioni is University Professor at George Washington University. He is the author and editor of many influential books, including The Spirit of Community and The New Golden Rule. Alyssa Bowditch is an executive assistant at the Institute for Communitarian Policy Studies.