Pragmatism, Feminism, and Democracy

"Few scholars think harder than James Livingston. As a result, he makes things easier for the rest of us. A tour de force of intellectual history, cultural analysis, and philosophical critique, [Pragmatism, Feminism, andDemocracy] breaks apart many of the moss-backed cliches that have arrested the development of political thought about the emergence of consumer society." -- Andrew Ross, New York University
"This is a challenging, sometimes breathtaking, exploration of the emergence of modern subjectivity throguh the lens of consumer culture and corporate capitalism. Brilliantly blending literary sources with historiographical critique, Livingston persuasively argues for the twin power of feminism and pragmatism to illuminate the emergence of the self in the modern world." -- Alice Kessler-Harris, Columbia University
"This is an enormously stimulating book. It touches on many important issues in both contemporary political cultural criticism, and historiography...it is about the formation of historical subjects...it is about reframing the left critique of American history...Finally, it is a distinctive reading of pragmatism." -- Thomas Bender, New York University
"This volume will enliven a conversation about U.S. history that has become distressingly timid and predictable. James Livingston is independent, forthright, and provocative-one of the history profession's most valuable gadflys." -- David Hollinger, University of California, Berkley