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William Appleman Williams

The Critical, Conflicted, and Elitist Liberalism of Richard Hofstadter—And Why It Matters (Part 2)

The goal of the Livingston’s 2007 boundary 2 piece was twofold: (1) to review David Brown’s 2006 biography of Hofstadter, and (2) to show Hofstadter was, in my terms, an heir of Marxist Critical Theory. If Brown responded to the boundary 2 piece, I haven’t seen it. In composing the piece, Livingston used writings and reflections from a number of Hofstadter’s students (now historians). They included Stanley Elkins, Eric McKitrick, Paula Fass, Eric Foner, and David Singal. Readers of the essay included Eugene Genovese, James Oakes, Bruce Robbins, Meg Havran, Patricia Rossi, and others. It appears, from a note at Read more