This book establishes surprise as a key Emersonian affect, and demonstrates its significance for transatlantic modernism and the philosophy of pragmatism.

Practices of Surprise in American Literature After Emerson locates a paradoxical question - how does one prepare to be surprised? - at the heart of several majo

Based on the author's dissertation (doctoral)--Columbia University, 2013.

Demonstrates that the quest for immediacy, or experiences of direct connection and presence, has propelled the development of American literature and media cult

Argues that a new, post-postmodern aesthetic emerges in the 1990s as American writers grapple with the triumph of free-market politics.