Speculative Endeavors

Speculative endeavors describes the connections between speculation and minoritarian subjects and practices during the rise of capitalism in the US.

Drawing on diverse historical perspectives, the volume challenges conventional historiographic narratives by spotlighting historic agents traditionally excluded from discussions of knowledge and capitalism. Through a series of meticulously researched essays on pedagogical practices, domestic manners, public court cases, and behind-the-scenes publishing habits, the book delves into the quotidian forms of knowledge on the fringes of nineteenth-century society. Each original contribution sheds light on how seemingly inconsequential narratives are part of the fabric of the period's burgeoning market economy and financial capitalism.

Speculative endeavors is a call to reconceptualize our understanding of the past. Through its rigorous analyses of epistemic and economic practices and compelling narratives of marginalized agents, this groundbreaking collection invites readers to reconsider the intersections of power, privilege, and precarity in the turbulent times between the early republic and the Gilded Age.