The academic novel is often spoke of as one large genre. However, it actually includes or mixes several genres, and in this book, Aristi Trendel identifies the striking genre of the “master professor,” not just of an academic field but of their proteges.

Jeffrey J. Williams, Carnegie Mellon University

In this study of the campus novel and beyond, Trendel insightfully examines mastery and discipleship under modern and contemporary conditions advancing the understanding of the pedagogic relation. The originality of its perspective and the subtleness of the analysis make it a must-read for those interested in the American novel.

Theodora Tsimpouki, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Aristi Trendel situates her timely and engrossing study of the master-disciple novel against the backdrop of the long tradition of eros and pedagogy in Western letters. Pedagogic Encounters gets at the heart of the tensions – intellectual, moral, cultural, existential – in the fraught politics of the American academy. Through skillful analyses of fictional encounters in selected novels, Trendel draws attention to the richly figured complexities in the pedagogic bond.

Victoria Aarons, Distinguished Professor of Literature, Trinity University

Aristi Trendel’s Pedagogic Encounters: Master and Disciple in the American Novel After the 1980s provides readers with a much-needed study of the complex, vital interrelationships among faculty and students. Fans of academic fiction will find much to admire in this well-wrought, thoughtful book about university life.

Kenneth Womack, Professor of English and Popular Music, Monmouth University