Professor Cottom's teaching interests include literary and cultural theory, cultural studies, and nineteenth-century English literature. His essays have appeared in journals such as ELH, Novel, Critical Inquiry, Representations, and SubStance. In his courses he emphasizes the importance of student initiative and participation, even at the cost of his own (always precarious) peace of mind.
Nineteenth-century English literature; cultural studies; literary and cultural theory
International Bohemia (2013)
Unhuman Culture (2006)
Why Education Is Useless (2003)
Cannibals & Philosophers: Bodies of Enlightenment (2001)
Ravishing Tradition: Cultural Forces and Literary History (1996)
Abyss of Reason: Cultural Movements, Revelations, and Betrayals (1991)
Text and Culture: The Politics of Interpretation (1989)
Social Figures: George Eliot, Social History, and Literary Representation (1987)
The Civilized Imagination: A Study of Ann Radcliffe, Jane Austen, and Sir Walter Scott (1985)