Celebrating the 80th birthday of Winfried Fluck, this volume of REAL gathers leading US-American and European literary scholars from English and American Studies to engage some of his classic essays, covering topics that range from the aesthetics of early American literature to the history of our digital present and from the Americanization of literary studies to the search for American democratic culture. Each of the volume's twelve dialogues consists of a republished essay by Fluck and a response by one his interlocutors, written specifically for this occasion. Contributors include field-defining scholars, long-time companions, and colleagues whose intellectual trajectory has been impacted by Fluck's incisive metacriticsm and his reception-oriented approach to literary and cultural history. The twelve dialogues reassess debates that have shaped literary studies in the late twentieth century and they inquire into the paradigmatic shifts that are currently reorganizing the field.

Laura Bieger is Professor of American Studies at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Her research and teaching focuses on the relation of aesthetics and politics. Johannes Voelz is Professor of American Studies, Democracy, and Aesthetics at Goethe-Universität Frankfurt. His work focuses on American literature, culture, and political aesthetics.

Winfried Fluck: The Americanization of Literary Studies Leonard Cassuto: "The Americanization of Literary Studies" Revisited Winfried Fluck: Literature, Liberalism, and the Current Cultural Radicalism Stephen Greenblatt: Response to Winfried Fluck, "Literature, Liberalism, and the Current Cultural Radicalism" Winfried Fluck: Lionel Trilling, Jane Austen, and American Literature Jonathan Arac: The Long Lineage of Cultural Politics: Lionel Trilling Once More Winfried Fluck: Systemic Containment or Imaginary Self-Extension? A Theory of American Literature Susanne Rohr: From Seesaw to Standstill? The Transnational Imaginary in Katie Kitamura's Intimacies Winfried Fluck: Crossing the Threshold: Realism and the Expression of Emotions Peter Schneck: A Feel for the Real: Realism, Observation and Emotional Identification: A Response to Winfried Fluck Winfried Fluck: From Aesthetics to Political Criticism: Theories of the Early American Novel Philipp Schweighauser: Fluck and the Early American Novel Winfried Fluck: Aesthetics and Cultural Studies Rita Felski: "Aesthetics and Cultural Studies" Revisited Winfried Fluck: The Imaginary and the Second Narrative: Reading as Transfer Ramón Saldivar: Winfried Fluck and the Social Imaginary: Reading "The Imaginary and the Second Narrative" Winfried Fluck: Reading for Recognition Johannes Voelz: Aesthetics and Affects of Recognition Winfried Fluck: Philosophical Premises in Literary and Cultural Theory: Narratives of Self-Alienation Laura Bieger: Reading for Premises: Some Thoughts on Winfried Fluck's Field Shaping Method Winfried Fluck: From Mass Culture to Self Serve Media Frank Kelleter: Your Culture My Clutter: Popular Media and the History of Our Digital Present Winfried Fluck: Narratives About American Democratic Culture Heinz Ickstadt: Searching for "American Democratic Culture"