Writing a book is an exercise in scholarly collaboration, even when only one author’s name appears on the cover. This project came to be under the guidance of stalwart teachers, most notably Ursula Heise, Gavin Jones, David Palumbo-Liu, and Nicholas Jenkins. I have learned and benefited from their deep knowledge, keen eye for argument, commitment to making the bold claim, and attention to the nuances of language and narrative. Ramón Saldívar and Sianne Ngai also enriched this project and offered invaluable counsel. For setting me on the path that led me here, I’m grateful to Bill Ray.
At the University of Texas at Austin my colleagues—and friends—have helped me and this project grow with their ready encouragement. Chad Bennett, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Evan Carton, Neville Hoad, Susannah Hollister, Cole Hutchison, Julia Lee, Lindsay Reckson, Matt Richardson, and Snehal Shingavi provided fresh perspectives on chapters of this book. Cole and Matt Cohen helped me navigate the publishing process. I am grateful to my chairperson, Liz Cullingford, and associate chairperson, Martin Kevorkian, for creating the productive and affable work environment in which a young scholar can thrive. My mentors, Jennifer Wilks and Evan, have also made the first years on the UT faculty fruitful ones. I valued the opportunity to share this work at the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies and thank Sue Heinzelman and fellow members of the 2011-2012 Faculty Development Program for their audience. Andrea Golden and Cecilia Smith-Morris help keep the ship afloat. Without Colleen Eils’s hard work, deadlines would have melted away along with my sanity.
Allison Carruth encouraged me early on to let my scholarship speak my passions. Thank you. Dear friends Claire Bowen, Joel Burges, Justin Eichenlaub, Harris Feinsod, Michael Hoyer, Ruth Kaplan, and Ju Yon Kim have seen this project in its many stages and have been my brilliant interlocutors (often over whiskey or wine) for years. Kiara Vigil continues to be a close but “outside” reader. Conversations at Rice University, UC Davis, Macalester College, Williams College, and Stanford’s Center for the Study of the Novel and Contemporary Reading Group, as well as conferences for the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment and the American Comparative Literature Association stimulated thought on this book. Priscilla Wald, Sam Cohen, and Lee Konstantinou helped the ideas found herein get an early audience.
Rebecca Walkowitz expressed curiosity about the mind behind this project and brought the book to Matthew Hart and David James, coeditors of the Literature Now series at Columbia University Press. She is a great advocate. At the Press, it has been a privilege to work with editor Philip Leventhal. I also thank the anonymous readers for their critiques, Susan Pensak and Audrey Smith for attention to the manuscript and production, and Whitney Johnson for her patience.
I am grateful for the financial support I have received at all stages of this project, including the following from the University of Texas at Austin: a Book Subvention Grant from the Office of the President, a Summer Research Assignment from the Graduate School Faculty Development Program, and a Center for Women’s and Gender Studies Faculty Development Program Fellowship. Support also came from a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Center for Environmental Studies at Williams College, the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation, Stanford University, and the U.S. Department of Education Jacob K. Javits Program.
An earlier version of
chapter 3 appeared as “Wondrous Strange: Eco-Sickness, Emotion, and
The Echo Maker,”
American Literature 84, no. 2 (2012): 381–408, copyright 2012, Duke University Press. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, Duke University Press (
www.dukeupress.edu). An earlier version of
chapter 4 appeared as “
Infinite Jest’s Environmental Case for Disgust” in
The Legacy of David Foster Wallace, ed. Samuel Cohen and Lee Konstantinou (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2012), 118–142. Reprinted by permission of University of Iowa Press.
Above all, and every day, I thank my mother, Bette Houser. Her love, indomitable will, and appreciation for joy have always guided me. I could never be grateful enough, but know that it’s always enough. Garrett Houser: we bitch and moan, reminisce, and even brag a little, but you continue to keep me in my place. My love to you both.