DEAS Research Seminar - Mirosław Aleksander Miernik

DEAS Research Seminar | Fridays at 12 | room G33

October 17, 2025

Mirosław Aleksander Miernik (Dept of North American Cultures and Literatures, University of Warsaw)

“Literary Responses to Crisis in the 21^st-century American Novel”

Abstract: At least since the Panic of 1837, American literature was quick to respond to crises in a prompt manner. Although this originally was a response to a financial crisis—dubbed “panic fiction” by Mary Templin—the American novel would often take inspiration from the numerous crises the US went through and their impact on society. The lecture will focus on literary reactions to the crises of the first decades of the 21st century, including the 2007/8 financial crisis, the growing political divisions, the rise of racial tensions, the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in terms of the association of the US with freedom and prosperity. The novels discussed will include Philipp Meyer's American Rust, Jennifer Egan's Candy House, Imbolo Mbue's Behold the Dreamers, Elizabeth Strout's Burgess Boys and Lucy by the Sea, Raven Leilani's Luster, and Celeste Ng's Our Missing Hearts.

Bio: Mirosław Aleksander Miernik is an Associate Professor at the Institute of English Studies at the University of Warsaw. His professional interests include 20th and 21st century American literature, particularly in the context of neoliberal capitalism, inequalities, and consumption. He also is interested in consumer culture and subculture studies, as well as the impact of economic matters on American culture. Throughout his career he lectured at the Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Goettingen, and the University of Saarland. His recent publication include “Between Neoliberalism and Postmodernism: Image, Rock and Roll, and Authenticity in Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad”, “Not Only Puritans and Snobs: The Dynamic Between the Urban and the Provincial in the Works of Elizabeth Strout” and “From Freedom to Struggle: Colson Whitehead’s Apex Hides the Hurt as a Denouncement of Surface Fetishism.”