Joan Estelrich and the new humanism in interwar Europe

Abstract

This article provides an overview on Joan Estelrich’s intellectual activity departing from two initiatives, which may be related to the so-called humanism or new humanism so much in vogue in Europe throughout the inter-war period. The multifaceted voice ‘humanism’ and the expression ‘new humanism’ are first reviewed in historical context in order to avoid misinterpre­tations. The project of an unborn journal, Humanitats (1929), conceived as the academic journal for the Fundació Bernat Metge in its national and transnational dimension, is then analysed, with particular attention to Mario Meunier’s contribution on the humanities and the European spirit. The article also explores Estelrich’s involvement in the debate on the humanities and the formation of the contemporary man in the entretien organized by the Institut International de Coopération Intellectuelle (Société des Nations) in Budapest, in June 1936, to illustrate the meaning and use of ‘new humanism’ and its projection in Estelrich’s intellectual profile.