Les quatre saisons des clercs

The Four Seasons of Intellectuals, Jean-François Sirinelli. The commitment of intellectuals since the Dreyfus affair constitutes a national tradition, this key moment forming the "birth" of a type of involvement sowed during thanks to Voltaire and the 18th century. During the period between the two wars, intellectuals played a major role because of the seriousness of the stakes as well as because of the very nature of a clash that, opposing Nazism and Communism, directly called to the intellectuals. After the Liberation and the Algerian war, however, these engagements diminished as media coverage tended to abolish the power of intellectuals.Sirinelli Jean-François. Les quatre saisons des clercs. In: Vingtième Siècle, revue d'histoire, n°60, octobre-décembre 1998. Les engagements du 20e siècle. pp. 43-57