Overview

Although Europe's leading existential thinkers felt that Americans were too self-confident and optimistic to accept their philosophy of tragedy, responsibility, and the absurd, existentialism enjoyed rapid, widespread, and enduring popularity among Americans. George Cotkin argues that the existential approach to life, marked by vexing despair and dauntless commitment in the face of uncertainty, has deep American roots and helps to define the United States in the twentieth century in ways that have never been fully realized or appreciated. The only full-length study of existentialism in America, this highly engaging and original work provides an invaluable guide to the history of American culture since the end of the Second World War.

Full Product Details

Author:   George Cotkin (California Polytechnic State University)
Publisher:   Johns Hopkins University Press
Imprint:   Johns Hopkins University Press
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.40cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.544kg
ISBN:  

9780801882005

ISBN 10:   0801882001
Pages:   368
Publication Date:   24 June 2005
Recommended Age:   From 17
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

"Contents: AcknowledgementsChapter One Introduction1741-1949 American Existentialists before the Fact Chapter Two The ""Drizzly November""of the American Soul1928-1955 Kierkegaardian Moments Chapter Three Kierkegaard Comes to America Chapter Four A Kierkegaardian Age of Anxiety1944-1960 The Era of French Existentialism Chapter Five The Vogue of French Existentialism Chapter Six New York Intellectuals and French Existentialists Chapter Seven The Canon of Existentialism1948-1968 Realizing an Existential Vision Chapter Eight ""Cold Rage"": Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison Chapter Nine Norman Mailer's Existential Errand Chapter Ten Robert Frank's Existential Vision1960-1993 Postwar Student and Women's Movements Chapter Eleven Camus's Rebels Chapter Twelve Existential Feminists: Simone de Beauvoir and Betty FriedanChapter Thirteen Conclusion: Existentialism Today and TomorrowNotes Essay on Sources Index"

Reviews

Cotkin proves existentialism's relevance by showing that it was never just a fad; existential sensibilities run deep in our history. An engrossing, readable account of a major current in our cultural history. - Village Voice; A fine survey of existential 'notions' in America, from the 1600s to the 1970s. - Jay Parini, The Guardian; One of the great pleasures of reading Cotkin's brilliant study is that it explains why existentialism has proved so deeply appealing and enduring in an American context. - Reason

Author Information

George Cotkin is a professor of history at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. He is the author of Reluctant Modernism: American Thought and Culture, 1880-1900 and William James, Public Philosopher, the latter published by Johns Hopkins.

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