Subjects and Occasions

This collection brings together diverse short pieces such as book reviews, interviews, op-eds, historical and literary-critical articles, and reports for monitoring organizations. Drawing on Matthew Feldman’s experience as literary scholar, intellectual historian, and political consultant, it follows the development of different forms of radicalism, especially far-right movements, fascist ideology, and terrorism during the “long twentieth century.” Using the examples of intellectuals such as Samuel Beckett and Albert Camus, scholars such as the Holocaust historian Detlef Mühlberger, as well as politicians such as Nick Griffin or Donald Trump,  Subjects and Occasions  collects texts written over more than a generation . Feldman draws connections between academic and practical knowledge, as he strives to enhance public understanding and sounding a call for civil courage needed to maintain the intrinsic value of each human life.