From Revolution to Ethics: May 1968 and Contemporary French Thought [Hardcover]

Julian Bourg (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0773531998 | ISBN-13: 978-0773531994 | Publication Date: May 2007

The French revolts of May 1968, the largest general strike in twentieth-century Europe, were among the most famous and colourful episodes of the twentieth century. Julian Bourg argues that during the subsequent decade the revolts led to a remarkable paradigm shift in French thought - the concern for revolution in the 1960s was transformed into a fascination with ethics. Challenging the prevalent view that the 1960s did not have any lasting effect, From Revolution to Ethics demonstrates that intellectuals and activists turned to ethics as the touchstone for understanding interpersonal, institutional, and political dilemmas. In absorbing and scrupulously researched detail Bourg explores the developing ethical fascination as it emerged among student Maoists courting terrorism, anti-psychiatric celebrations of madness, feminists mobilizing against rape, and pundits and philosophers championing human rights.Based on newly accessible archival sources and over fifty interviews with men and women who participated in the events of the era, From Revolution to Ethics provides a compelling picture of how May 1968 helped make ethics a compass for navigating contemporary global experience

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a terrific book. No study of May 1968 - and they are legion - matches From Revolution to Ethics in combining impeccable historical research and scholarly judiciousness with an incessant underlying passion for the ethical project, complexly understood." Peter Starr, University of Southern California, and author of Logics of Failed Revolt "In the valuable tradition of intellectual history, this book is a unique and fascinating analysis of difficult French thinkers and their movements." Michael Seidman, University of North Carolina, and author of The Imaginary Revolution: Parisian Students and Workers in 1968

About the Author

Julian Bourg is assistant professor of history, Bucknell University, and editor of After the Deluge: New Perspectives on the Intellectual and Cultural History of Postwar France.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 468 pages
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press (May 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773531998
• ISBN-13: 978-0773531994
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book - where is the paperback? Where are the other reviews?, January 15, 2012

By 

Charles Foster Kane (Who knows?) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Revolution to Ethics: May 1968 and Contemporary French Thought (Hardcover)

I read this several years ago and was fascinated both by its thesis (that the French left underwent a shift in emphasis, from revolutionary attitudes - action - to focus on a moral or ethical imperative - principle) and the examples it used. It dwells on a number of fascinating thinkers and movements from the late 60s through the early 80s, with a lot of focus on Foucault and the anti-prison movement, Anti-Oedipus and the anti-psychiatry movement, and the sexual permissiveness which extended, quite controversially, into apologia for pedophilia at times (in which case the feminist wing of the left demonstrated its opposition to and difference from other streams on the left - an early sign of fragmentation in the sense of purpose achieved in May '68). A really thought-provoking book which deserves a paperback edition and, frankly, more reviews. I'm kind of amazed it's been so thoroughly overlooked.

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A challenging new reading of '68, December 29, 2007

By 

SF Reader (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Revolution to Ethics: May 1968 and Contemporary French Thought (Hardcover)

Julian Bourg offers a strikingly original reinterpretation of May 1968 and its legacy. Challenging and beautifully crafted, this is an outstanding piece of intellectual history.