Intellectual history of European culture is analyzed in new book

“Antigos, Modernos, Selvagens” (“Ancient, Modern, Savage”) is the first Portuguese edition of a book published in Brazil by FGV Press. In this work, French historian François Hartog draws parallels between emblematic historical figures and between Ancient and Modern notions, while adding a third figure, which emerged with the discovery of the New World: that of the Savage.

Inspired by the “Sad Tropics,” a memoir by Claude Lévi-Strauss, Hartog starts a new investigation: from ancient to modern, from modern to savage, from savage to ancient, he questions the in-between spaces, the discrepancies and the interactions between these three concepts.

On top of reflections about otherness and the frontier, from the perspective of a cultural history of the ancient world, and his previous works on ancient and modern writings, Hartog adds a new aspect in this book: modern uses and appropriations of antiquity.

Thus, going from antiquity to the second half of the 20th century, the book seeks to contribute to an intellectual history of European culture. The author is dedicated to “in-between spaces,” gaps, disagreements and also interactions between the three concepts in question. He is convinced that remaining simply in a confrontation between the ancient and modern would certainly have been easier, but insufficient.

To obtain the book, click here.