Vaguely remembered book with extended interviews

January 13, 2010 12:20 AM

Around five years I read one or two books by a British academic. I think the author might have been a professor at Oxford University. He was interested in extended conversations with people from diverse backgrounds. I believe he might have had a project to set up salons. There was at least one article written about his work in The Gaurdian or The Independent. I can't remember his name or the details of his work. Who was this guy?
posted by rdr to Society & Culture (3 answers total)

Was it Alain de Botton? Wikipedia page. He has written a lot in the UK press, and concerns himself with the Philosophy of everyday life.
posted by handee at 1:25 AM on January 13, 2010

Best answer: Theodore Zeldin, almost certainly. The Oxford Muse project is a bit like a salon.
posted by altolinguistic at 1:56 AM on January 13, 2010

(he sprang to mind immediately, because I was taught linguistics by his wife).
posted by altolinguistic at 2:04 AM on January 13, 2010