Jean Starobinski (17 November 1920 – 4 March 2019) was a Swiss

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

Biography

Starobinski was born in Geneva in 1920, the son of Jewish physicians Aron Starobinski of Warsaw and Sulka Frydman of Lublin. Both his parents left Poland in 1913. Aron Starobinski chose to study humanities as well as medicine, and his son Jean, who received his Swiss citizenship only in 1948, would follow his example, eventually becoming a practicing psychiatrist. Yet even in Switzerland, the Starobinski family could not escape reminders of a legacy of Europe-wide oppression. In November 1932, when Starobinski was 11 years old, in his family’s Geneva neighborhood of Plainpalais, murderous violence broke out against the Swiss Jewish socialist Jacques Dicker, who was leading an anti-fascist demonstration. The Swiss army fired upon the protesters, killing 13 and wounding 65. He studied classical literature, and then medicine at the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

, and graduated from that school with a doctorate in letters ( Docteur ès lettres) and in medicine. He taught

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...

at the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

, the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...

and at the University of Geneva, where he also taught courses in the

history of ideas Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual histor ...

and the

history of medicine The history of medicine is both a study of medicine throughout history as well as a multidisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand medical practices, both past and present, throughout human societies. More than just histo ...

. His existential and phenomenological literary criticism is sometimes grouped with the so-called "

Geneva School The expression Geneva School refers to (1) a group of linguists based in Geneva who pioneered modern structural linguistics and (2) a group of literary theorists and critics working from a phenomenological perspective. Geneva School of Linguisti ...

". He wrote landmark works on French literature of the 18th century – including works on the writers

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promine ...

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

– and also on authors of other periods (such as

Michel de Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a liter ...

). He also wrote on contemporary poetry, art, and the problems of interpretation. His books have been translated into dozens of languages. His knowledge of medicine and

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...

brought him to study the history of

melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly dep ...

(notably in the ''Trois Fureurs'', 1974). He was the first scholar to publish work (in 1964) on

Ferdinand de Saussure Ferdinand de Saussure (; ; 26 November 1857 – 22 February 1913) was a Swiss linguist, semiotician and philosopher. His ideas laid a foundation for many significant developments in both linguistics and semiotics in the 20th century. He is widel ...

's study of

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...

s. Jean Starobinski was a member of the

Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

(a component of the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...

) and other French, European and American learned academies. He held honorary degrees (''honoris causa'') from numerous universities in Europe and America. Starobinski died on 4 March 2019 in

Morges Morges (; la, Morgiis, plural, probably ablative, else dative; frp, Môrges) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud and the seat of the district of Morges. It is located on Lake Geneva. History Morges is first mentioned in 1288 as ' ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, aged 98.Jean Starobinski, historien des idées, est mort

Works

* ''

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principa ...

'', Paris, Seuil, 1953; reedited, 1994. * ''

: la transparence et l’obstacle'', Paris, Plon, 1957; Gallimard, 1971. * ''Histoire du traitement de la mélancolie, des origines à 1900'' Thèse, Bâle, Acta psychosomatica, 1960. * ''L’Œil vivant'', Paris, Gallimard, 1961. * ''L’Invention de la Liberté'', Geneva,

Skira The festival of the Skira ( grc, Σκίρα) or Skirophoria ( grc, Σκιροφόρια) in the calendar of ancient Athens, closely associated with the Thesmophoria, marked the dissolution of the old year in May/June. Description At Athens, t ...

, 1964. * ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

and

Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts in ...

'' in ''Hamlet and Oedipus'' by

Ernest Jones Alfred Ernest Jones (1 January 1879 – 11 February 1958) was a Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst. A lifelong friend and colleague of Sigmund Freud from their first meeting in 1908, he became his official biographer. Jones was the first En ...

, introduction by Jean Starobinski, Tel Gallimard, Poche, * ''Portrait de l’artiste en saltimbanque'', Geneva,

, 1970; Paris, Gallimard, 2004. * ''La Relation critique'', Paris, Gallimard, 1970; coll. «Tel», 2000. * ''Les Mots sous les mots: les anagrammes de

'', Paris, Gallimard, 1971. * ''1789: Les Emblèmes de la Raison'', Paris, Flammarion, 1973. * ''Trois Fureurs'', Paris, Gallimard, 1974. * "La conscience du corps" in ''Revue Française de Psychanalyse'', 1981, n0 45/2, * ''

Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a liter ...

en mouvement'', Paris, Gallimard, 1982. (English edition: ''

in Motion'', University of Chicago Press, 2009. * ''

Claude Garache Claude Garache (born 1929 or 1930) is a French artist. He has worked in painting, sculpture, illustration and engraving. His principal subject is the female nude. Much of his work uses a single colour on a monochrome background, very often blood- ...

'', Paris, Flammarion, 1988. * ''Table d’orientation'', Lausanne, L’Âge d’homme, 1989. * ''Le Remède dans le mal. Critique et légitimation de l’artifice à l’âge des Lumières'', Paris, Gallimard, 1989. * ''La mélancolie au miroir. Trois lectures de

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fro ...

'', Paris, Julliard, 1990. * ''

Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominen ...

dans l’espace des peintres'', Paris, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1991. * ''Largesse'', Paris, Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1994. * ''Action et réaction. Vie et aventures d’un couple'', Paris, Seuil, 1999. * ''La Poésie et la guerre, chroniques 1942-1944'', Zoé, Geneva, 1999. * ''La Caresse et le fouet,

André Chénier André Marie Chénier (; 30 October 176225 July 1794) was a French poet of Greek and Franco-Levantine origin, associated with the events of the French Revolution of which he was a victim. His sensual, emotive poetry marks him as one of the precur ...

'', with engravings by Claude Garache, Editart, D. Blanco, Geneva, 1999. * ''Le poème d'invitation'', La Dogana, Geneva, 2001. * ''Les enchanteresses'', Seuil, Paris, 2005. * ''Largesse'', Paris, Gallimard, 2007. * ''La parole est moitié à celuy qui parle... : entretiens avec Gérard Macé'', Genève, La Dogana, 2009. *« Questions sur un ramage », in ''L’Amuse-Bouche : La revue française de Yale''. The French Language Journal at Yale University, 1(1), pp. 92-95, 2010. * ''L'Encre de la mélancolie'', Paris, Le Seuil, 2012 * ''Accuser et séduire'', Paris, Gallimard, 2012 * ''Diderot, un diable de ramage'', Paris, Gallimard, 2012 * ''La Beauté du monde – La littérature et les arts'', Paris, Gallimard, 2016 * ''Le Corps et ses raisons.'', 2020, éd. Le Seuil, coll. Librairie du 20ème siècle, .

References

:''This article is based on an abridged version of the article

Jean Starobinski Jean Starobinski (17 November 1920 – 4 March 2019) was a Swiss literary critic. Biography Starobinski was born in Geneva in 1920, the son of Jewish physicians Aron Starobinski of Warsaw and Sulka Frydman of Lublin. Both his parents left ...

from the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has article ...

, retrieved on September 30, 2006.''

External links

Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques
(in French)

(in French)
Video ''Starobinski, Jean''
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Starobinski, Jean 1920 births 2019 deaths Writers from Geneva Swiss literary critics Swiss male writers Swiss medical writers Swiss Jews University of Geneva alumni Academic staff of the University of Geneva Academic staff of the University of Basel Johns Hopkins University faculty Academic staff of ETH Zurich Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the Lincean Academy Swiss expatriates in the United States

Biography

Works

See also

References

External links