Introduction . . . . . .

Friedrich Nietzsche and the Pragmatists

1. "Only we have created the world that concerns man!:" Nietzsche, Naturalism, and the Idea of Creativity . . . . . .




2. "The humanistic state of mind:" James and Nietzsche . . . . . .




3. Knowing Is Doing, Knowing Is Creating: Dewey and Nietzsche . . . . . .




4. "But the answer to a great poem is a still better poem:" Rorty and Nietzsche . . . . . .




5. Naturalizing Kant?: Constructivism and Pragmatism . . . . . .




Pragmatism, Poetic Agency, and Race





6. "This craving, this urge for beauty:" The Female Black Dandy in Nella Larsen’s Quicksand . . . . . .




7. "Ah wants tuh utilize mahself all over:" Poetic Agency in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God . . . . . .




Theoretical Encounters





8. Pragmatism, Marxism, and Humanism . . . . . .




9. "All anybody ever does with anything is use it:" Edward Said, Richard Rorty, and the Task of Humanist Criticism . . . . . .

Conclusion