A Short History of the American Impersonal

Abstract

Briefly discusses Cameron’s earlier work to explain how, coupled with this latest book, she has developed a profound revision of the American literary tradition, specifically as it relates to understanding the question of the self, a view that challenges the work of Stanley Cavell and Perry Miller. Summarizes Cameron’s description of Melville’s, Emerson’s, Edwards’, and T.S. Eliot’s understanding of impersonality. Outlines ways the apprehension of immanence developed by Gilles Deleuze can be helpful in understanding Cameron’s ideas about the impersonal. Suggests Cameron’s book offers a radical new way of approaching questions American writers have asked about identity and materiality.