Jack Blum '62 (BardCorps)

Interviewee

Jack Blum

Files

Interviewee Role

Alumni

Years Active

1959-present

Significant Quote

"...the first impression [of Bard College] was you got to know people as human beings. Faculty relationships were extraordinary. Instead of a lecture hall with a couple of hundred people or, or with a teaching instructor, you would never get to see a professor--here you were one-on-one with professors who were absolutely astonishing."  [time stamp in inverview: 8:57]

Class Year

1962

Academic Program

Division of Social Studies

Interviewer

Palash Bosgang, Felix Bielefeld

Description

This oral history, recorded on March 11, 2026, features Jack Blum (Bard College Class of 1962), a lawyer and investigator known for exposing international corruption. Interviewed by Palash Bosgang '93 and Felix Beilefeld, Blum discusses his transition from MIT to Bard College in 1959, seeking an environment that prioritized thinking over rote memorization.

A significant portion of the interview centers on Blum's relationship with professor Heinrich Blücher, the second husband of Hannah Arendt. Blum describes Blücher’s "Socratic method" of teaching, which engaged students in philosophy as an active process rather than studying it as a historical academic subject. Blum also shares personal anecdotes about Blücher’s past as a street speaker for Rosa Luxemburg and his influence on a generation of creative thinkers. The discussion concludes with reflections on the importance of authenticity in politics and the distinction between theoretical knowledge and practical action.

Keywords

Jack Blum, Felix Beilefield, Palash Bosgang '94, Heinrich Blücher, Hannah Arendt, Leon Botstein, Ralph Ellison, President James Case, President Reamer Kline, Walter Winchell, Rosa Luxemburg, Lotte Kohler, Carl Jaspers, Socrates, Jesus of Nazareth, Hegel, Plato, Robert Redford Institutions and Organizations: MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), New School for Social Research, Episcopal Church, St. Stephen's, University of Chicago, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, FBI Locations: Riverside Drive, Adolph's Events and Miscellaneous Proper Nouns: Great Depression, Sputnik, Weimar Republic, Nazi Period, McCarthy (Era), World War II, Common Course, Winter College, Sources of Creative Power, Bardian, Man Alone, Myth of the Voyage, The Candidate, My Own Private Bin Laden

Interview Date

3-3-2026

Interview Duration

01:21:37

Recommended Citation

Blum, Jack, "Jack Blum '62 (BardCorps)" (2026). BardCorps -- All Oral Histories. 88.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/oral_hist/88