Books in the American Intellectual Culture series

Peter S. Field contends that Ralph Waldo Emerson was America's first democratic intellectual and a democrat in two senses: his writings are imbued with an optimistic, confident ethos; and, more importantly, he acted the part of the democrat by bringing culture to all Americans.

Lester Frank Ward is regarded as one of the greatest thinkers of the late 19th century. This work covers how Ward's thought laid the foundations for the modern administrative state, and brings out his contributions to 20th century American liberalism.

Since the late-19th century, the USA has not been able to agree on a common creation story. The authors of this study explain that much of this stems from the reality that Americans rely on two competing worldviews: modern naturalistic science and traditional Judeo-Christian religions.

This text examines the complex relationships between Presidents and America's intellectuals since 1960.

Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism highlights Wilsons sharp departure from the traditional principles of American government, most notably the Constitution. Ronald J.

This work seeks to attain a true understanding of the postmodern predicament. Peter Lawler reflects on the flaws of postmodern thought, the futility of pragmatism, and the spiritual emptiness of existentialism. He examines postmodernism by interpreting the writings of five American authors.

Traces how pragmatism and its reliance on experience eclipsed nature and religion as the ultimate moral authority. The author explores why Americans prize experience as highly as they do, what they build out of it in works of culture and their daily lives, and where people might turn when they reach the limits of experience.

Comprehensive in its chronology, the works it discusses, and the commentators it critically examines, Alexis de Tocqueville and American Intellectuals tells the surprising story of Tocqueville's reception in American thought and culture from the time of his 1831 visit to the United States to the turn of the twenty-first century.

Present a synthetic treatment of the colonial colleges, tracing their role in the intellectual development of early America through the American Revolution. This work focuses on Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, the College of New Jersey (Princeton), King's College (Columbia), the College of Philadelphia (Penn), among others.

This study shows that New Age spirituality first flourished in America more than a century ago during the Gilded Age, under the mantle of "New Thought". Catherine Tumber demonstrates that "gnostic feminism" has surfaced during periods of triumphant corporate consolidation.