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Jacques Martin Barzun

ジャック・マルタン・バルザン

Jacques Martin Barzun

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1907-11-30 （Créteil, France）
Died
2012-10-25 （San Antonio, Texas, U.S.） age 104
Nationality
France, United States
Languages
English, French
Residence History
Paris (childhood) → Grenoble (childhood) → Harrisburg (high school) → New York (Columbia University, residence/work) → San Antonio (later life)

Career

Occupations
Historian, Cultural historian, Author, Literary critic, Professor
Active Years
1928-2012
Affiliations
Columbia University, Churchill College, University of Cambridge (Extraordinary Fellow), Charles Scribner's Sons (Literary Adviser), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Fellow), American Philosophical Society (Member), American Academy of Arts and Letters (Member; recipient of Gold Medal for Criticism)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society, American Academy of Arts and Letters
Influenced By
Edward Gibbon, Jacob Burckhardt, Thomas Babington Macaulay, William James (intellectual influence)
Influenced
Scholars of cultural history, Columbia University students and faculty (successors), Contemporary education theorists and cultural critics

Education

Harrisburg Technical High School
Degree: High School Diploma
Period: 〜1923
Year of Graduation: 1923
Country: United States
Completed secondary education in the U.S.
Columbia University (Columbia College)
Liberal arts / Humanities
Degree: BA
Period: 1923–1927
Year of Graduation: 1927
Country: United States
BA (valedictorian)
Columbia University
Graduate School / History
Degree: MA
Period: 1927–1928
Year of Graduation: 1928
Country: United States
Master's degree
Columbia University
Graduate School / History
Degree: PhD
Period: 1928–1932
Year of Graduation: 1932
Country: United States
PhD; subsequently taught at Columbia University

Awards

Presidential Medal of Freedom
2003
Organization: Office of the President of the United States
Result: 受賞
National Humanities Medal
2010
Organization: Office of the President / National Endowment for the Humanities
Result: 受賞（授与式は2011年）
Legion of Honour (Chevalier)
Organization: Government of France
Result: 叙勲
St. Louis Literary Award
1968
Organization: Saint Louis University Library Associates
Result: 受賞
Melville Cane Poetry Award
1993
Work: An Essay on French Verse
Organization: Poetry Society of America
Result: 受賞
Edgar Award (Special Award)
1972
Work: A Catalogue of Crime (co-authored)
Organization: Mystery Writers of America
Result: 受賞（特別賞）
Gold Medal for Criticism (American Academy of Arts and Letters)
Organization: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present

2000 Cultural history / Broad survey 816 pages

A sweeping survey of Western cultural life since 1500, addressing developments in thought, art, music, and politics through wide-ranging erudition and distinctive organizational devices.

Transformation of Western cultureModernity and secularizationInteraction of art, music, and thought
Translations

Teacher in America

1945 Education / Social critique 224 pages

A critique of teacher training and the American education system that advocated reforms in pedagogy and teacher preparation; influential in postwar education debates.

Educational reformTeacher trainingEducation and society

The House of Intellect

1959 Cultural criticism 192 pages

A critique of intellectual life and the cultural establishment, discussing the dangers of overspecialization and defending the value of a liberal education.

Critique of specializationDefense of liberal educationCultural criticism

Berlioz and the Romantic Century

1950 Musicology / Biography 800 pages

A study centered on composer Hector Berlioz that examines Romantic music and its cultural context; Barzun is regarded as a leading authority on Berlioz.

Romantic musicComposer biography19th-century culture

Bibliography

  • Samplings and Chronicles (editor), 1927
  • The French Race, 1932
  • Race: A Study in Modern Superstition, 1937 (rev. 1965)
  • Teacher in America, 1945
  • Berlioz and the Romantic Century, 1950
  • The House of Intellect, 1959
  • The Modern Researcher (co-author/revised editions), various editions
  • From Dawn to Decadence, 2000

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Erudite, essayistic proseClear, learned argumentationCompilation-style technique with frequent citations and sidebars
Recurring Motifs
Importance of education and liberal artsInterrelation of culture and the artsCritique of overspecializationDeep interest in music (especially Berlioz)Interest in detective fiction and popular culture

Legacy

A polymathic cultural historian whose work influenced debates on education and cultural criticism. He achieved international acclaim for major works such as From Dawn to Decadence and received honors in both the U.S. and France.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • American Philosophical Society
  • American Academy of Arts and Letters

Archives

  • Jacques Barzun papers, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University

In Popular Culture

  • A quotation about baseball attributed to him is inscribed on a plaque at the Baseball Hall of Fame

Quotes

  • Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.
    Source: (Famous quote; inscribed on a plaque at the Baseball Hall of Fame)

Trivia

  • Died at age 104, continued writing and reviewing into advanced age
  • Wrote or edited more than forty books
  • Published From Dawn to Decadence at age 93 (considered a magnum opus)
  • Co-recipient of a Special Edgar Award for A Catalogue of Crime
  • Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom