Blackwell Reference Online

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Henri Lefebvre had the good fortune to live a long, intellectually productive life in a century of political disasters that drove most intellectuals on the left to despair or worse. Lefebvre was one of the most original Marxist theorists to think with Marx beyond Marx about the changes taking place in capitalism since Marx's death in 1882. He appropriated in a critical manner the concepts of some of the most important social theorists. Lefebvre also developed concepts of his own: everyday life, the production of social space, difference, modernity, and reproduction of the relations of production. He completed his Diplôme d'Études Supérieures at the Sorbonne in 1924 and his dissertation in 1954. Lefebvre considered himself a philosopher/sociologist, and this led him to emphasize conceptual analysis on sociological issues. He became a member of the French Communist Party (PCF) in 1928 and was excluded from it in 1958 for participating in too many oppositional groups to the PCF. He was appointed to a research position in 1948 in the Center of Sociological Studies (CES) at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). In 1960 he established the Research Group on Everyday Life at the CES. In 1965 he was appointed to the sociology chair as well as to the directorship of the Institute of Urban Sociology at the University of Paris at Nanterre. Henri Lefebvre was one of the most ... log in or subscribe to read full text