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I am extremely grateful to Stephen Ross, whose efforts and expertise in guiding me through the process of writing this book are matched only by his patience with my tendency to obfuscate doubly where I am asked to clarify; moreover, Stephen has acted as both an advocate and a mentor, and I set him as my standard when working with my own students. I would also like to thank Steven Gibson, particularly for sticking his neck out to make sure that I received the resources I needed for the creative projects that subtend this work. Christopher Butterfield models a life of thinking differently and delightfully, which will always be an aspiration of mine. Many faculty and students in the University of Victoria’s program in Cultural, Social, and Political Thought have also played an animating role in this book, which couldn’t have come to be without them. I’m also grateful to Cary Wolfe and Doug Armato for their generous spirits and discerning minds. I am indebted to many friends. Dylan Robinson frequently catalyzes new directions in my research and has been an arbiter of taste and a spirited interlocutor throughout my personal and academic life. Anita Girvan provided more support than one should ever ask of a friend—from editing to counseling to any number of well-timed jokes—and even provided temporary housing under a roof with her sparkling family (I’m afraid all I gave in return was several hundred feet of rolled paper!). Marc Couroux and eldritch Priest have helped to keep me a practicing nonmusician, for which I offer thanks only in the form of a promise to continue to contribute to our collective bellyaching. Finally, my family: my parents instilled in me the (at times misplaced!) self-confidence necessary to complete a project of this scope, and my siblings (humorously) enforce the humility that keeps me pushing further. Sevina and Jasmine have suffered my philosophizing of pencils graciously and have taught me to attend to the complexities of life with a joyfulness I never thought available to me; our time together has been the richest and most wonderful part of my life. And of course, to Anna, née Gertrude, who has been a muse throughout this project in ways she’ll never know. I only hope this book has a fraction of the depth of her own work; I know that it pales in this respect next to my love and admiration for her. aCkNOwlEdgMENTS vii This page intentionally left blank ...

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