Martin Jay
Encyclopedia
Martin Jay is the Sidney Hellman Ehrman Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley
. He is a renowned Intellectual Historian
and his research interests have been groundbreaking in connecting history with other academic and intellectual activities, such as the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School
, other figures and methods in continental Social Theory
, Cultural Criticism
, and Historiography
among many others.
He received his B.A from Union College
in 1965. In 1971, he completed his Ph.D. in History at Harvard under the tutelage of H. Stuart Hughes
. His dissertation was later revised into the book The Dialectical Imagination, which covers the history of the Frankfurt School
from 1923-1950. While he was conducting research for his dissertation, he established a correspondence and friendship with many of the members of the Frankfurt School. He was closest to Leo Löwenthal
who had provided him access to personal letters and documents that were crucial to Jay's research (Löwenthal would later chair the Sociology
department at Berkeley). His book is considered one of the most influential works in exposing the American Academy to the theoretical insight of the Frankfurt School. His work since then continued to explore the many nuances of Marxism/Socialism, as well as exploring new territory in Historiography
and Cultural Criticism, Visual Culture
, and the place of Post-Structuralism
/Post-Modernism in European Intellectual History. His current research is nominalism and photography. He is a recipient of the 2010/2011 Berlin Prize Fellowship from the American Academy in Berlin
.
He also has a regular column in the quarterly journal Salmagundi.
He is the husband of literary critic Catherine Gallagher
.
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. He is a renowned Intellectual Historian
Intellectual history
Note: this article concerns the discipline of intellectual history, and not its object, the whole span of human thought since the invention of writing. For clarifications about the latter topic, please consult the writings of the intellectual historians listed here and entries on individual...
and his research interests have been groundbreaking in connecting history with other academic and intellectual activities, such as the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School
Critical theory
Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
, other figures and methods in continental Social Theory
Social theory
Social theories are theoretical frameworks which are used to study and interpret social phenomena within a particular school of thought. An essential tool used by social scientists, theories relate to historical debates over the most valid and reliable methodologies , as well as the primacy of...
, Cultural Criticism
Cultural critic
A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole and typically on a radical basis. There is significant overlap with social and cultural theory.-Terminology:...
, and Historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
among many others.
He received his B.A from Union College
Union College
Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
in 1965. In 1971, he completed his Ph.D. in History at Harvard under the tutelage of H. Stuart Hughes
H. Stuart Hughes
Henry Stuart Hughes was an American historian, professor, and activist; he also advocated the application of psychoanalysis to history.-Early life:...
. His dissertation was later revised into the book The Dialectical Imagination, which covers the history of the Frankfurt School
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
from 1923-1950. While he was conducting research for his dissertation, he established a correspondence and friendship with many of the members of the Frankfurt School. He was closest to Leo Löwenthal
Leo Löwenthal
Leo Löwenthal was a German-Jewish sociologist usually associated with the Frankfurt School.-Life:Born in Frankfurt as the son of assimilated Jews , Löwenthal came of age during the turbulent early years of the Weimar Republic...
who had provided him access to personal letters and documents that were crucial to Jay's research (Löwenthal would later chair the Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
department at Berkeley). His book is considered one of the most influential works in exposing the American Academy to the theoretical insight of the Frankfurt School. His work since then continued to explore the many nuances of Marxism/Socialism, as well as exploring new territory in Historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
and Cultural Criticism, Visual Culture
Visual culture
Visual Culture as an academic subject is a field of study that generally includes some combination of cultural studies, art history, critical theory, philosophy, and anthropology, by focusing on aspects of culture that rely on visual images.- Overview :...
, and the place of Post-Structuralism
Post-structuralism
Post-structuralism is a label formulated by American academics to denote the heterogeneous works of a series of French intellectuals who came to international prominence in the 1960s and '70s...
/Post-Modernism in European Intellectual History. His current research is nominalism and photography. He is a recipient of the 2010/2011 Berlin Prize Fellowship from the American Academy in Berlin
American Academy in Berlin
The American Academy in Berlin is a research and cultural institution in Berlin whose stated mission is to foster a greater understanding and dialogue between the people of the United States and the people of Germany.The American Academy was founded in September 1994 by a group of prominent...
.
He also has a regular column in the quarterly journal Salmagundi.
He is the husband of literary critic Catherine Gallagher
Catherine Gallagher
Catherine Gallagher is a historicist literary critic and Victorianist and is currently Professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. Her most recent book is The Body Economic : Life, Death, and Sensation in Political Economy and the Victorian Novel...
.
Further reading
- 1973 The Dialectical Imagination: A History of the Frankfurt School and the Institute of Social Research, 1923-50
- “The Concept of Totality in Lukács and Adorno”. Telos 32 (Summer 1977). New York: Telos Press.
- 1984 Marxism and Totality: The Adventures of a Concept from Lukács to Habermas
- 1984 Adorno. Fontana Modern MastersFontana Modern MastersThe Fontana Modern Masters was a series of pocket guides on the writers, philosophers, and other thinkers and theorists whose ideas were shaping the intellectual landscape of the twentieth century. The first five titles were published on 12 January 1970 by Fontana Books, the paperback imprint of...
. - 1985 Permanent Exiles: Essays on the Intellectual Migration from Germany to America
- 1988 Fin-de-Siécle Socialism and Other Essays
- 1993 Force Fields: Between Intellectual History and Cultural Criticism
- 1993 Downcast Eyes: The Denigration of Vision in Twentieth-Century French Thought
- 1998 Cultural Semantics: Keywords of the Age
- 2003 Refractions of Violence
- 2004 Songs of Experience: Modern American and European Variations on a Universal Theme
- 2010 The Virtues of Mendacity: On Lying in Politics
- 2011 Essays from the Edge: Parerga and Paralipomena
External links
- Martin Jay's Faculty Page
- An Interview with Martin Jay on the topic of Consumption
- History, Experience, and Politics: An Interview with Martin Jay-
- The Modernist Imagination:Intellectual History and Critical Theory: Essays in Honor of Martin Jay, eds. Warren Breckman, Peter E. Gordon, A. Dirk Moses, Samuel Moyn and Elliot Neaman (New York, Berghahn Books, 2009).