Intellectuals beyond barricades: Felix Guattari and the militant subjectivation of 1968

Abstract

The legacy of the French thought of the 1970s is not just the set of theoretical problems and conceptual inventiveness of its main representatives. Its critical ability drew on a strong dialogue with the political context of the time, an issue somewhat neglected by scholars, most often overly focused on monographic approaches or internal analysis of the works of a particular author. A good example, the militancy of Félix Guattari has been essentially analyzed with regard to the propositional content of his theory to the detriment of the comprehension of the social context within which it found its limits and its significance. One of his most significant political initiatives, the Centre d'études, de recherches et de formation institutionnelles (CERFI), has received scarce attention and interest. Based on documentary research using the French author's personal archives stored at the Institut memoires de l'édition contemporaine (IMEC), this article presents and analyzes the Guattarian proposal to constitute a process of militant subjectification grounded in the values of 68, put in motion, with all its dilemmas and contradictions by means of the CERFI.