Modern Europe Colloquium | The Age of Hobsbawm: The Life of a Revolutionary Historian

The Modern Europe Colloquium presents Emile Chabal, Professor of Contemporary History, University of Edinburgh, on his new book "The Age of Hobsbawm: The Life of a Revolutionary Historian", in discussion with Professor Samuel Moyn and Anthony Liddie.

An intellectual biography of Eric Hobsbawm, one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century. Eric Hobsbawm (1917–2012) was one of the foremost European intellectuals of the twentieth century. He published hundreds of articles on modern history and culture, and his books became canonical works and bestsellers on both sides of the Atlantic. His crystal-clear writing, vast erudition, and ability to make his Marxist analysis digestible to a wide audience brought him worldwide renown.

Yet Hobsbawm was no academic hermit. Through his globetrotting journalism, he was embedded in an extraordinary web of politicians, activists, and fellow intellectuals across Europe, South Asia, and the Americas, including Manmohan Singh, Che Guevara, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Fernand Braudel, E. P. Thompson, Arno Mayer, and Salvador Allende. Emile Chabal traces the origins of Hobsbawm’s ideas and most famous writings by exploring his scholarly foundations, delving deep into the archives to uncover hidden links and unexpected conversations that shaped his pathbreaking work.

Going well beyond the Ages series of modern history books for which Hobsbawm is best known, Chabal offers the first substantial interpretation of Hobsbawm’s entire body of writing. Indeed, The Age of Hobsbawm is also a trove of unique insights into the generations of Marxist writers with whom Hobsbawm was in conversation—authors whose work continues to shape political debates globally.

Bio: Emile Chabal is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Edinburgh. He has authored and edited several books, including "A Divided Republic: Nation, State, and Citizenship in Contemporary France" and "States of Ignorance: Governing Irregular Migrants in Western Europe". His writing has appeared in such publications as "Foreign Policy", "The Hindu", the "Times Literary Supplement", "Jacobin", and "Libération". You will find more details about his publications and research on this personal homepage.

The Modern Europe Colloquium is generously sponsored by the Edward J. and Dorothy Clarke Kempf Memorial Fund; and the European Studies Council of the Yale MacMillan Center