Heidegger in America

Heidegger in America explores the surprising legacy of his life and thought in the United States of America. As a critic of modern life, Heidegger often lamented the growing global influence of all things American. However, it was precisely in America where his thought inspired the work of generations of thinkers – not only philosophers but also theologians, architects, novelists, and even pundits. As a result, the reception and dissemination of Heidegger's philosophical writings transformed the intellectual and cultural history of the United States at a time when American influence was itself transforming the world. A case study in the complex and sometimes contradictory process of transnational exchange, Heidegger in America recasts the scope and methods of contemporary intellectual and cultural history in the age of globalization, challenging what we think we know about Heidegger and American ideas simultaneously.

Introduction - being here: Heidegger and reception history; Preface; 1. Freiburg bound: the early years of American Heidegger scholarship; 2. Exiles and emissaries: Heidegger's stepchildren in the United States; 3. Nihilism, nothingness, and God: Heidegger and American theology; 4. An officer and a philosopher: J. Glenn Gray and the postwar introduction of Heidegger into American thought; 5. Dasein and das Man: Heidegger and American popular culture; 6. The continental divide: Heidegger between the analytic and continental traditions in American philosophy; 7. Richard Rorty and the riddle of the book that never was; 8. Ethics, technology, and memory: Heidegger and American architecture; 9. Culture wars: Heidegger and the politics of postmodernism; Conclusion - being there: Heidegger and the history of ideas.

Heidegger in America is a case study in the recent history of transnational intellectual and cultural exchange. It suggests that the reception and dissemination of Heidegger's philosophical writings transformed the intellectual culture of the United States at a time when American influence was itself transforming the world.

Martin Woessner is Assistant Professor of History and Society at The City College of New York (CUNY), Center for Worker Education.