Randal Marlin elected Vice-President of the International Jacques Ellul Society

 

Randal Marlin, Adjunct Professor, Department of Philosophy, has recently been elected Vice-President of the International Jacques Ellul Society (IJES) by the IJES Board of Directors, January 9, 2013, for a two-year term.

The IJES connects people from various fields who share an interest in maintaining and extending the legacy and work of Jacques Ellul.

Ellul (1912-1994) was a French sociologist, political theorist, historian, professor of law, and an expert in biblical studies, philosophy of technology and philosophical study of propaganda.  Ellul, who is recognized as a prophetic voice regarding the growth of technology and the illusion that political power would suffice to curtail its harmful effects, was also an early community activist on ecological matters, and acted as a member of the resistance during the German occupation.  Marlin shares many similar research and community interests as Ellul, and though Marlin has retired from full-time teaching, his inquiry into topics including propaganda, free speech and communication ethics, prevails.

These shared interests with Ellul are not a coincidence – Marlin spent a year studying with Ellul in 1979-80.  During this time, he sat in on all of Ellul’s courses at France’s University of Bordeaux (Bordeaux is also Ellul’s hometown).

“My interest in Ellul has always been in his sociological thinking about technology – ‘la technique,’ encompassing more than ‘technology’ – and propaganda,” explains Marlin.  “I have been led to see how his theological and other writings interconnect with his sociological, political and ethical thinking.  David Gill, the current President of IJES, speaks of all of Ellul’s books as like chapters of one much larger work. The truth is that each work sheds light on the others and it is worth the effort to read more widely among Ellul’s writings than simply the book or books fitting one’s immediate interests.”

2012 marked the centenary of Jacques Ellul’s birth.  In hounour of this, a conference was held at the University of Bordeaux.  Marlin was thrilled to attend.

“Returning to Bordeaux in 2012, I found it useful to compare notes with others who had likewise had personal encounters with him (Ellul).  French interest in Ellul has blossomed since his death, probably because his political stances offended sacred cows dear to both Right and Left while he was still alive… The Bordeaux conference was especially interesting to me as I got to know many of a whole new generation of younger Ellul scholars, as well as members of his immediate family.”

Marlin has always been an active contributor to the IJES mandate, and has a number of Ellul articles in press.  His entry for Propaganda in the Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of War (November, 2011) refers heavily to Ellul.  Recently, Marlin also reviewed a book titled Générations Ellul, by Frédéric Rognon, a professor of religion at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Strasbourg.

 

 

“In this remarkable book Rognon gives biographical sketches of sixty different scholars around the world, along with brief sketches of their work and interviews where he posed very probing questions, recording and publishing their answers. Although the book was in French, I wrote a review of it in English, scheduled for publication in the Ellul Forum, published twice yearly by the International Jacques Ellul Society.”

The current issue of the Jacques Ellul Society Publication (Fall 2012), has contributions by seventeen almost entirely English-speaking scholars, including an entry from Marlin: Reflections on Jacques Ellul on the Centenary of His Birth.

In his new found position as Vice-President, Marlin plans to aid in coordinating events and conferences for the IJES.  He has hopes to one day, even hold a conference at Carleton University.

For those interested in learning more about Jacques Ellul, please visit: www.jacques-ellul.org