
Michel Winock (born 19 March 1937) is aFrenchhistorian, specializing in the history of theFrench Republic, intellectual movements,antisemitism,nationalism and thefar right movements of France. He is aprofesseur des universités incontemporary history at theInstitut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po)[1] and member ofL'Histoire magazine's editing board. Winock has also worked as a reporter forLe Monde.
Winock is the author ofSiècle des intellectuels (Century of Intellectuals, 1997), for which he received thePrix Médicis in 1997[2] in the essay category. He also wroteVoix de la liberté (Voice of Liberty, 2001), acknowledged by theAcadémie française, and directed theDictionnaire des intellectuels français with Jacques Juillard. He won the 2010Prix Goncourt de la Biographie forMadame de Stael.
Winock became a doctor of letters achieving hisagrégation d'histoire in 1961. He started his career in secondary school teaching at thelycée inMontpellier, then at theLycée Hoche inVersailles and thelycée Lakanal inSceaux. The creation of the University of Vincennes following the Faure reform of 1968 opened the doors ofhigher education to him. Winock also led a career as an editor. He was a member of theEsprit magazine from 1964, and became an adviser, then literary director toÉditions du Seuil. In 1978, a year after leavingEsprit, he foundedL'Histoire magazine with the aim of making the best historical research accessible to the public. Author of about 40 works, Winock is today one of the most prolific and esteemed French historians.
Winock was one of the initiators of theLiberté pour l'histoire (freedom for history) petition.[3] Winock participated in the administrative council of the association with the same name.