著者

愛甲 雄一 愛甲 雄一 AIKO Yuichi アイコウ ユウイチ Aiko Yuichi

出版者

山梨県立大学

雑誌

山梨国際研究 山梨県立大学国際政策学部紀要 = Yamanashi glocal studies : bulletin of Faculty of Glocal Policy Management and Communications (ISSN:21874336)

巻号頁・発行日

no.12, pp.1-14, 2017

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The issue of anti-intellectualism has been widely discussed in Japan for the last few years, but only a cursory glance has been given to Richard Hofstadter in this debate. This relative neglect is regrettable not just because this American historian is the author of Anti-Intellectualism in American Life(1963)but also because his intellectual life itself was a struggle against what he called anti-intellectualism in America. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap; it also aims to induce Japanese intellectuals to discuss further about their own roles in the future of the Japanese society. This paper focuses on Hofstadter's scholarly life in mid-twentieth century America. His intellectual career had been guided by his strong sense of duty as an intellectual, which he acquired when he was still a junior scholar. In Hofstadter's belief the duty of intellectuals lies in resisting any social, political, and cultural forcethat coerces conformism, and also in defending the plurality of society. Anti-Intellectualism is surely his most important contribution in this regard, but this sense of mission also underlies in his other works.