American Crucible: Race and Nation in the Twentieth Century

TLDR: In this article, the authors implicitly ask communication theorists and critics to read important poets and novelists, not just in the sense of reading more, but by reading more alertly, and they call us to glimpse connections across terrains of knowing, to build our own lessons from them, to confirm others' concrete presence even as we must stand up to them, and to recognize deeper and more organic links.

Abstract: brings rigorous and first-rate intellects into my life and dares me to be a better and more versatile reader. More specifically, these works implicitly ask communication theorists and critics to read important poets and novelists, not just in the sense of reading more, but by reading more alertly. They call us to glimpse connections across terrains of knowing, to build our own lessons from them, to confirm others’ concrete presence even as we must stand up to them, and to recognize deeper and more organic links. Moreover, consistent with a concrete philosophy of dialogue, they each ask readers to respond, despite the clutter and ill-formed meanings of our own lives. I look at my messy desk, and know I have time for that.