Peter Szendy

Peter Szendy is the David Herlihy University Professor of Comparative Literature and the Humanities at Brown University. He leads the Economies of Aesthetics Initiative at the Cogut Institute for the Humanities and holds affiliations with Comparative Literature and the Institute.

He earned a PhD in Social Sciences from the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (1995). His research explores intersections between aesthetics, philosophy, and cultural studies, with notable works on visual economies, sound studies, and apocalyptic narratives in cinema and literature.

Teaching focuses on literary theory, cultural critique, and interdisciplinary humanities themes such as temporality, capitalism, and debt. Courses include 'Introduction to the Theory of Literature' and 'Politics of Reading.'

His publications span 12 books, examining topics from Kantian philosophy to modern espionage aesthetics, with a focus on redefining disciplinary boundaries in the humanities.