AHA Session 188
North American Conference on British Studies 4
North American Conference on British Studies 4
Saturday, January 6, 2024: 8:30 AM-10:00 AM
Powell I (Parc 55, Third)
Chair:
William Huntting Howell, Boston University
Papers:
Session Abstract
What is the role of individualism in a stable and functional society? This interdisciplinary panel will explore how liberal politics and commerce have long tangled with the tension between self-interested pursuits and selfless bonds in building a flourishing community. Taking the lens of history of emotions, which deals critically with human feeling as a historically variable phenomenon, this panel aims to open up discussion of the role of selfish passions and individualism versus more benevolent, sociable feelings in early modern and modern history. The session hopes to foster conversation on the role of and limitations of individualistic ideals, from self-protection and self-interest to individual human rights, in Anglo-American history and the liberal tradition. In this panel, Kaitlin Pontzer examines early modern ideas of self-preservative contractual politics. Susan Matt provides scholarship on modern self-reliance. James M. Paulino offers a legal perspective on legislative approaches to individualistic and communal bonds. This panel will ask whether selfish individualism has historically been as celebrated as might be supposed. It brings together scholars from history and the history of emotions, American studies, and law, who have diverse methodologies but a shared interest in the tension between the self and society.
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