The intellectual relationships and friendships I developed at Columbia
University have left me with an enormous debt of gratitude. To Paul
Anderer, who guided my work since I was an undergraduate, I owe
more in intellectual and personal terms than I can easily convey; his
help, encouragement, and advice have led me to a place neither one of
us could have imagined a decade ago. Carol Gluck has been a constant
source of guidance and support and has pushed me to engage with
problems that I have sometimes taken for granted. Franco Moretti
introduced me to the kind of work on literature I always wanted to do
but never knew existed; his immense intellect and equally immense
generosity have helped show me what to strive for as both a scholar
and as a teacher. David Wang has been supportive of my work for a
long time now and his own work has greatly inspired me.