New faculty book explores the facets and significance of the word interest in 18th-century life
by Tony Moore
Can a single word explain the world? Jacob Sider Jost, associate professor of English, sets out to explore the issue through the word “interest” in his new book,
Interest and Connection in the Eighteenth Century. What he discovers is that the word is foundational across the varying spectrums of finance, economics, politics, psychology and aesthetics allowing writers to make connections among different spheres of 18th-century life and explore diverse but connected facets of the human condition.
What sparked your interest in this single word in this single period?