Timothy Dykstal, Associate Professor, received his
PhD from the University of Chicago. He specializes in eighteenth-century
British literature, philosophy and literature, and nonfictional prose.
He received an ACLS grant to prepare The Luxury of Skepticism,
a book about the politics of the philosophical dialogue in eighteenth-century
England. His current research focuses on the discourse of self-help,
then and now: how eighteenth-century persons attempted (through their
own private regimens) to get out of the funks they found themselves
in; and why, even now, melancholy has a greater literary reputation
than mental health.
Representative Publications
The Luxury of Skepticism: Politics, Philosophy,
and Dialogue in the English Public Sphere, 1660-1740. Charlottesville:
University Press of Virginia, 2001.
"The Habits of Highly Effective People: Pedagogy and the Problem of Amelia." In Eighteenth-Century Genre and Culture: Serious Reflections on Occasional Forms. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2001. 114-135.
"The
Story of O: Politics and Pleasure in The Vicar of Wakefield," ELH
62 (1995): 329-346.
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Last updated April 12, 2005