British Cultural Studies intellectuals simulated organic ties in the absence of an actual movement

Evidence

We were organic intellectuals without any organic point of reference; organic intellectuals with a nostalgia or will or hope (to use Gramsci’s phrase from another context) that at some point we would be prepared in intellectual work for that kind of relationship, if such a conjuncture ever appeared. More truthfully, we were prepared to imagine or model or simulate such a relationship in its absence: “pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.” — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 244

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• XREF: Connects to Gramsci’s organic/traditional intellectual distinction and the PRISON NOTEBOOKS; also relevant to debates about public intellectuals today.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: what does it mean to ‘simulate’ an organic intellectual relation, and does simulation preserve or distort the Gramscian project?

Related

• Institutional practice, not doctrine, produces organic intellectuals. (similarity 0.87)

Broader Connections

• Cultural Studies advanced through external ruptures rather than internal evolution #corroborates (0.45) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 247