Los guías de la nación. El nacimiento del intelectual en su contexto internacional.

Abstract

During the final years of the nineteenth century, the figure of the intellectual was born. In order to analyze the structural causes that led to its rise, the role of the intellectuals in the process of na-tion-building is studied. Focusing on the Spanish case, the first intellectuals in the modern sense of the word will be compared to their immediate predecessors. This way it becomes clear that they used a different concept of the nation and also chose to play a dif-ferent role. Instead of considering the nation a political or econo-mic community, the first intellectuals saw it as a cultural entity and presented themselves as its spiritual guides. An analysis of the Spanish case helps us to radically revise the generally accepted interpretation of the French case, casting doubt upon the idea of Zola being the first intellectual ever.