Wolf Lepenies and W. Robert Connor discuss political change and cultural consequences in contemporary Eastern Europe and the usefulness of historical analogies. Wolf Lepenies observes “the failure of the interpretive class” to keep up with the political and cultural changes in Eastern Europe and notes historical analogies between late twentieth-century Hungary and the origins of the United States. He discusses the “burden of the present” which compels those in power to defer long-range plans in favor of immediate concerns, and attributes Eastern Europe’s spike in nationalism and anti-Semitism to the sudden removal of communist repression. On education, Lepenies praises the “smorgasbord” approach offered by undergraduate programs in the U.S. versus the specialized programs historically favored by Europe’s colleges. At the time of the interview, Lepenies was Director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin.
In the second segment [15:15], Bob Connor discusses historical analogy as referred to in his article, “Why Were We Surprised?” (American Scholar, 1991). He contends that the underlying causes of apparently analogous unexpected military outcomes in classical and contemporary history were in fact caused by dissimilar and unpredictable factors. Connor argues that the value of historical analogy is loosely applicable, not predictive, and that a proper liberal education shows students better how social change occurs. At the time of the interview, Connor was Director of the National Humanities Center.
This episode of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
