A Political Companion to Herman Melville

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments I owe many thanks to this volume’s contributors for writing such provocative and compelling essays on Melville’s political thought. I have learned from all of them and also from the many rewarding exchanges we have had over the past two years. A special thanks to Lawrie Balfour and George Shulman for their insightful feedback, encouragement, and friendship. Stephen M. Wrinn, the director of the University Press of Kentucky, has been supportive from the very beginning, and I appreciate the opportunity he has given me to translate my long-standing interest in Melville into something substantial. Those of us working in the fields of American political thought and politics and literature owe much to Steve and Patrick Deneen for bringing this series, Political Companions to Great American Authors, into the world. Many chapters of this book were originally presented to audiences at the annual meetings of the American Political Science Association and Western Political Science Association. I think I can speak on the contributors ’ behalf in saying that we are grateful for the thoughtful feedback we received on these occasions. I would also personally like to thank participants in Cornell’s American Studies Seminar, Northwestern’s Center for Global Culture and Communication, the Democratic Vistas study group, and Duke’s Political Theory Workshop for their helpful comments, questions , and suggestions. Thanks also to Kevin Duong for his terrific comments and keen editorial assistance. Versions of two chapters have already appeared in print. I would like to thank the Review of Politics for permission to republish Susan McWilliams ’s “Ahab, American,” and the Quinnipiac Law Review for permission to republish Jennifer L. Culbert’s “Melville’s Law.” Where possible, because of quality and accessibility, we have referred to the Library of America editions of Melville’s work rather than the NorthwesternNewberry editions. I first read Melville in the context of a remarkable undergraduate course taught by Jack Schaar at the University of California, Santa Cruz. 414 Acknowledgments Jack’s deeply resonant understanding of American politics, and his appreciation of literature’s importance to political theory, left a lasting imprint on me and many others fortunate enough to be his students. Jack passed away in December 2011. This book is dedicated to him. ...