Early Life and Education
Susan Sontag was born on January 16, 1933, in New York City, to a Jewish family. Her early years were marked by personal hardship, as her mother, Mildred, was often ill, and her father, Jack Sontag, died when Susan was just five years old. This left her mother to raise her and her younger brother on her own. Despite these challenges, Sontag excelled academically and developed an early passion for literature.
Sontag’s intellectual trajectory was influenced by her time at the University of Chicago, where she studied literature and philosophy. She later moved to Paris to pursue further studies, immersing herself in the rich intellectual and artistic environment of post-war Europe. It was here that she encountered the works of influential philosophers, writers, and artists who would shape her own worldview.
Rise to Prominence
Sontag’s breakthrough came in 1964 with the publication of her first major work, Notes on "Camp". The essay explored the concept of "camp," a sensibility characterized by extravagance, artifice, and irony. At the time of its publication, the essay was groundbreaking in its analysis of a countercultural aesthetic that was gaining prominence in the United States, particularly in the world of art and theater. The essay’s popularity helped establish Sontag as a prominent cultural critic.
In the same year, Sontag also published Against Interpretation, a collection of essays that further solidified her reputation. The title essay argued against the intellectual trend of interpreting works of art solely through their symbolic meanings, advocating instead for a more direct engagement with the aesthetic experience. This view resonated with many artists, critics, and intellectuals, and it placed Sontag at the forefront of a movement that sought to reconsider the role of art in society.
Sontag’s writing during this period was characterized by its intellectual rigor and its engagement with both popular culture and high art. Her essays tackled subjects ranging from the nature of beauty in art to the relationship between politics and aesthetics. Her ability to blend the personal with the intellectual made her work accessible to a wide audience, yet her analysis remained sharp and sophisticated. shutdown123