Rudi Supek
Encyclopedia
Rudi Supek was a Croatian sociologist and a member of the Praxis School
of Marxism.
Supek studied philosophy in Zagreb and graduated in 1937. He went to study clinical psychology in Paris
, where he was when World War II
erupted. He joined the resistance movement, but soon was captured and deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where he took part in the Buchenwald Resistance
. After the liberation, Supek went back to Paris to continue living and studying there. In 1948, after the Informbiro
Resolution against Josip Broz Tito
’s Yugoslavia, the leader of the French Communists Maurice Thorez
asked Supek, who was member of the French Communist Party
, to attack Titoism
. Supek refused to comply and returned to Yugoslavia. However, he did not become a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.
Supek earned his PhD from Sorbonne
in 1952 and started to work as a Professor at the Department of Psychology of the Zagreb Faculty of Philosophy and at the Institute of Social Researches in Zagreb. He founded the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy in 1963. Supek became the first president of the Yugoslav Society of Psychologists and for a period he was the president of the Yugoslav Society of Sociologists.
Supek was chief editor of the journal Pogledi (Viewpoints) which was published from 1952 to 1954. In 1964 Supek and several colleagues from the Zagreb Faculty of Philosophy founded the Praxis journal. Supek was co-editor of the journal from 1967 to 1973. He initiated and became president of the Management Board of the Korčula Summer School.
In 2004, the Croatian Sociological Association established the annual Rudi Supek Award for achievements in sociology in his honour.
Praxis School
The Praxis school was a Marxist humanist philosophical movement. It originated in Zagreb and Belgrade in the SFR Yugoslavia, during the 1960s.Prominent figures among the school's founders include Gajo Petrović and Milan Kangrga of Zagreb and Mihailo Marković of Belgrade...
of Marxism.
Supek studied philosophy in Zagreb and graduated in 1937. He went to study clinical psychology in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, where he was when World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
erupted. He joined the resistance movement, but soon was captured and deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp, where he took part in the Buchenwald Resistance
Buchenwald Resistance
The Buchenwald Resistance was a resistance group of prisoners at Buchenwald concentration camp. It involved Communists, Social Democrats, and people affiliated with other political parties, unaffiliated people, and Christians. Because Buchenwald prisoners came from a number of countries, the...
. After the liberation, Supek went back to Paris to continue living and studying there. In 1948, after the Informbiro
Informbiro
Informbiro was a period in the history of Yugoslavia characterized by conflict and schism with the Soviet Union...
Resolution against Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
’s Yugoslavia, the leader of the French Communists Maurice Thorez
Maurice Thorez
thumb|A Soviet stamp depicting Maurice Thorez.Maurice Thorez was a French politician and longtime leader of the French Communist Party from 1930 until his death. He also served as vice premier of France from 1946 to 1947....
asked Supek, who was member of the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
, to attack Titoism
Titoism
Titoism is a variant of Marxism–Leninism named after Josip Broz Tito, leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, primarily used to describe the specific socialist system built in Yugoslavia after its refusal of the 1948 Resolution of the Cominform, when the Communist Party of...
. Supek refused to comply and returned to Yugoslavia. However, he did not become a member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.
Supek earned his PhD from Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in 1952 and started to work as a Professor at the Department of Psychology of the Zagreb Faculty of Philosophy and at the Institute of Social Researches in Zagreb. He founded the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy in 1963. Supek became the first president of the Yugoslav Society of Psychologists and for a period he was the president of the Yugoslav Society of Sociologists.
Supek was chief editor of the journal Pogledi (Viewpoints) which was published from 1952 to 1954. In 1964 Supek and several colleagues from the Zagreb Faculty of Philosophy founded the Praxis journal. Supek was co-editor of the journal from 1967 to 1973. He initiated and became president of the Management Board of the Korčula Summer School.
In 2004, the Croatian Sociological Association established the annual Rudi Supek Award for achievements in sociology in his honour.
Major works
Supek wrote many books and articles ranging from sociology to psychopathology, anthropology, and philosophy. His major works are:- Existentialism and Decadence (1950)
- Sociology and Socialism (1962)
- Herbert Spencer and the Biologism in Sociology (1965)
- Humanist Intelligentsia and Politics (1969)
- Social Prejudices (1973)
- Participation, Workers’ Control and Self-management (1974)
- Living after History (1986)