"Introduction: Postcolonial Intellectuals, European Publics"

This introduction acknowledges that the definition of “public intellectual” is a contested terrain that includes a plurality of positions, ranging from the custodianship of universal values to hyperspecialization, and tackles the following questions: Who can claim to be a public intellectual? Are people who have a public role and perform intellectual labor by definition public intellectuals? How is this activity held in regard by society, both in the past and at present, across different cultures and settings? And why is Europe relevant to this discussion?