Éric Fassin (Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis): State Anti-Intellectualism & the Politics of Gender and Race. Illiberal France and Beyond

In this guest lecture, Éric Fassin will present his new book State Anti-Intellectualism and the Politics of Gender and Race (CEU Press 2024). Using France as his main case study and combining it with reflections on the situation in countries such as Brazil, Turkey, Russia, Hungary and the United States, his book presents a compelling and careful analysis of current anti-intellectualism. He argues that today’s anti-intellectualism can no longer be analyzed in terms of local politics nor along Cold War geopolitical divisions. Instead, we are faced with a global phenomenon, which is not limited to ostensibly illiberal regimes.

Bringing together public interventions, articles and blogs which examine examples of state racism, gender politics, censorship and cancel culture in the period from President Sarkozy until today, as well as direct attacks against academics – both firsthand and against others, Fassin’s book makes an urgent plea for the importance of intellectual work in a global moment of political anti-intellectualism.