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The Existentialist Moment Defended: A Reply to Simon Susen

Patrick Baert

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The Sociology of Intellectuals

Abstract

In this chapter, Patrick Baert offers a detailed reply to Simon Susen’s review of The Existentialist Moment: The Rise of Sartre as a Public Intellectual. More specifically, Baert defends his proposal for a positioning theory, arguing that it equips us with a powerful explanatory framework for the sociological study of intellectuals. Even if the label ‘positioning theory’ may suggest otherwise, Baert’s version of this approach constitutes a comprehensive research programme, rather than a merely theoretical endeavour. As such, it can be regarded as a way of conducting research that pays close attention to the relationship between intellectual interventions and the meanings that these interventions acquire within socio-political contexts. This type of inquiry, then, requires an in-depth understanding not only of intellectuals but also of the broader milieu in which intellectuals operate.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, City, University of London, London, UK

    Simon Susen

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Patrick Baert

Authors
  1. Simon Susen
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  2. Patrick Baert
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Simon Susen .

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Susen, S., Baert, P. (2017). The Existentialist Moment Defended: A Reply to Simon Susen. In: The Sociology of Intellectuals. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61210-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61210-2_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-61209-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-61210-2

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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