Lukács after Communism : interviews with contemporary intellectuals

214 Pages·1997·1.25 MB·English

by  Corredor

LUKÁCS AFTER COMMUNISM
POST-CONTEMPORARY INTERVENTIONS
Series Editors: Stanley Fish and Fredric Jameson
LUKÁCS AFTER COMMUNISM
INTERVIEWS WITH CONTEMPORARY
INTELLECTUALS
EVA L. CORREDOR
DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS  Durham & London 1997
© 1997 Duke University Press
All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper ∞
Typeset in Melior with Antique Olive Compact display by Keystone
Typesetters, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Corredor, Eva L.
Lukács after Communism : interviews with contemporary intellectuals / Eva
Corredor.
p. cm. — (Post-contemporary interventions)
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8223-1754-0 (cloth : alk. paper).
— ISBN 0-8223-1763-x (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Lukács, György, 1885-1971. 2. Philosophy, Marxist.
I. Title.   II. Series.
B4815.L84C686 1997
199'.439-dc20    96-34207
CIP
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Interview with Michael Löwy
Interview with Jacques Leenhardt
Interview with Peter Bürger
Interview with George Steiner
Interview with Fredric Jameson
Interview with Cornel West
Interview with Etienne Balibar
Interview with Terry Eagleton
Interview with Susan R. Suleiman
Interview with Roberto Schwarz
Notes on Contributors
Index
To the memory of my father and to my daughter Livia who will carry on
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This volume would not have been without the contributions of ten
distinguished intellectuals who agreed to share with me their views and theories
relative to György Lukács. For their fascinating ideas and their enthusiasm for
the project I shall remain forever grateful. I also wish to express my sincere
appreciation for the gracious reception I received from all at the time of the
interviews, which took place during precious summer leave, Christmas holidays,
in between taxing conference sessions, and even just days after serious surgery.
Fredric Jameson, who has been important to my work all along by his
sustained interest in Lukács, again gave invaluable direction, from initial
encouragement to the publication of this study within the series he edits with
Stanley Fish. To both inspiring editors I wish to express my deep gratitude and
admiration.
Reynolds Smith’s immediate interest in the project opened the door to Duke
University Press, my first choice for the publication of this book. His editorial
talents also helped streamline the manuscript by eliminating some of my favorite
fluff. Thanks Reynolds. I wish to thank my readers at Duke for their constructive
comments. I appreciated Peter Guzzardi’s patience and support in moving along
the publication. Many thanks to my copy editor, Bob Mirandon, whose eagle
eyes detected every needy syntax and checked hundreds of foreign accents. Pam
Morrison, my final editor, was a true blessing. Her quiet expertise and—a rare
quality that I came to value immensely—wise understanding of authors’
pressures and frustrations, made the final stages of this publication as smooth
sailing and pleasant as they could be. My thanks go to Cherie Westmoreland for
her creative visual contributions to the text and the cover.
I am indebted to several friends and colleagues at my institution: to Katherine
Dickson and Laura Nauta from the Nimitz Library for invaluable help with
research, interlibrary loans, and indexing; to John Hutchins for leading me
gently toward realizing a surreal trip to Brazil; to Ray Collinson and Chris Buck
for troubleshooting my technological crises; to members of the administration
and colleagues who were instrumental in providing me with a Faculty Incentive
Award and a Naval Academy Summer Research Grant in 1994-95 that enabled
me to complete my last interveiw and spend a quiet summer writing my
introduction. Thanks for the many words of support and encouragement
extended to me by friends, colleagues, and even strangers—too many to be listed
here but not forgotten. They often did wonders.
Finally, my special and deep-felt gratitude goes to my daughter Livia, who has
been with me all along and whose gentle, continuous support and steady
confidence in my work made this book possible. To her my indebtedness is
greater than words can express. The warmth and joy that never ceased to come
from her and her young family have given meaning to everything in my life.
LUKÁCS AFTER COMMUNISM