Amanda Anderson workshop

This workshop is an opportunity discuss the work of one of the leading literary and critical theorists of our time. Amanda Anderson offers a complex picture of liberal traditions of thought from the nineteenth century to the Cold War era and beyond. Going against the grain of modern and contemporary critiques of liberalism, she us alerts to the diverse range of ideas in this tradition that continue to be relevant in our time. Combining moral philosophy, psychology, and sociological theory, Anderson’s writings offer a powerful ethical and aesthetic resource for contemplating our crisis-ridden age.  Four essays by Prof Anderson will be circulated to all registered participants two weeks before the event. Afternoon tea will be provided.

Amanda Anderson is Andrew W. Mellon Professor of English and Humanities at Brown University. Her research focuses on broad questions of intellectual history, disciplinary formation, and the relations among literature, moral life, and politics. Her recent books include Rumination in Life and Literature: A Vindication (forthcoming, 2027); Humanities Theory (2025; with Simon During); Character: Three Inquiries in Literary Studies (2019; with Rita Felski and Toril Moi), Psyche and Ethos: Moral Life After Psychology (2018), Bleak Liberalism (2016), and The Way We Argue Now: A Study in the Cultures of Theory (2006).  She served as the director of the Cogut Humanities Institute from 2015 to 2026 and is the faculty director of the Cogut Institute’s Doctoral Certificate in Collaborative Humanities and team-teaches its capstone Project Development Workshop.