Elogio de la transmision

by George Steiner, Cécile Ladjali, Gregorio Cantera (Translator)

Este diálogo entre Cécile Ladjali, una joven profesora agregada de literatura del liceo de un suburbio parisino, y George Steiner, erudito y profesor de renombre internacional, da pie a un intercambio de puntos de vista acerca del recurso a los clásicos, la puesta en práctica de una pedagogía de la exigencia y la satisfacción de enseñar y de recibir. De la experiencia de Cécile Ladjali, empeñada en que sus alumnos sean capaces de pensar por sí mismos, nace esta larga conversación con George Steiner. De la lucha empecinada de una profesora contra la amnesia planificada de muchos de los actuales sistemas educativos surge esta reflexión dialogada, que no sólo elogia la transmisión del saber, sino la de una actitud en la que ninguno de los dos polos educativos ha de sentirse ajeno al instinto compartido de crear al lado de nuestros semejantes.

168 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

George Steiner was a French and American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist, and educator whose work explored the relationship between language, literature, and society, with a particular focus on the moral and cultural consequences of the Holocaust. Multilingual from an early age, Steiner grew up speaking German, English, and French, and studied the classics under his father, while overcoming a physical handicap with his mother’s encouragement. His family relocated to the United States during World War II, an experience that shaped his lifelong reflections on survival, morality, and human cruelty. He studied literature, mathematics, and physics at the University of Chicago, earned an MA at Harvard, and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. Steiner held academic posts across Europe and the United States, including Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Geneva, Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge, the first Lord Weidenfeld Professor of Comparative European Literature at Oxford, and Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard, teaching in multiple languages. A prolific writer, he produced influential works in criticism, translation studies, and fiction, including Tolstoy or Dostoevsky, The Death of Tragedy, After Babel, and The Portage to San Cristobal of A.H., blending historical insight with philosophical reflection. His essays and books explored the power and ambivalence of human language, the ethical responsibilities of literature, and the persistence of anti-Semitism, while his fiction offered imaginative examinations of moral and historical dilemmas. Steiner was celebrated for his intellectual breadth and lecturing style, described as prophetic, charismatic, and sometimes doom-laden, and he contributed extensively to journals such as The Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, and The New Yorker. He was married to Zara Steiner, with whom he had two children, David and Deborah, both of whom pursued academic and public service careers. Steiner’s work remains widely respected for its integration of rigorous scholarship, ethical inquiry, and literary sensitivity, marking him as one of the foremost thinkers in twentieth-century literature and comparative studies.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este libro lo tuve que leer para una clase de Pedagogía y me dejó sentimientos encontrados. Por un lado, leer a ambos hablar con tanto amor y dedicación sobre la educación es inspirador, en especial a Cécile. Pero por el otro, la relación entre ellos dos se me hizo un tanto rara y me terminó dando la impresión de que Steiner trataba de menos a Cécile mientras que ella estaba muy cegada de admiración por él. Aparte del comentario que hace Steiner sobre que la mujer no puede ser maestra y que no hay alumnas brillantes tampoco, cuando las mujeres fueron tenidas en cuenta entre poco y nada en el transcurso de la historia.

[Clara Obligado]

Leer a Steiner siempre me resulta consolador. Un libro importante para cualquiera que se dedique a la enseñanza.