Hello everyone, my name is Michael Agadis and I’m a rising junior studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics and pursuing the Public and Professional Writing certificate. My research project this summer is actually in tandem with my Bachelor in Philosophy with oversight being provided by Dr. Gayle Rogers. My project is concerned with the presupposed nihilist bent that has pervaded contemporary ‘high literary fiction’ and those modern and postmodern authors’ proposed alternatives to the nihilist problem. More specifically, my thesis centers around, what I believe to be, a mischaracterization of most of these authors as supporting a culture of meaninglessness. Instead, I will aim to show that the authors discussed in my critique use their novels to grapple with the nihilist question and at their core propose some kind of alternative. The four books I’ve chosen to research are Notes from the Underground, The Trial, Infinite Jest, and The Plague. This work strikes me as an increasingly important critique of an America and, more broadly, of a world that has surely conceded to a strictly nihilist reading of the universe and has decided that there can never be a consequential solution. Moreover, this work is important as it will attempt to subvert the categorization of most of these books as operating in favor of nihilism instead of joining a fight against it. And if our art can be shown to oppose the realm of nihilism rather than play into it perhaps this message will trickle down to society more broadly and bring about a positive philosophical progression.
In the future I hope to pursue a law degree and perform private litigation or act as in-house counsel for a tech, music, or financial corporation. The Brackenridge Fellowship will be a fantastic help in pursuing this goal as it emphasizes collaboration, research, and clarity in relaying the details of academic pursuit to different kinds of people. It will also be incredible for gaining experience putting together involved and lengthy projects and keeping them consistent throughout their development and will be especially useful on the organizational end of things. A fun fact about me is that I’m obsessed with pickleball and I’ll be competing in a number of tournaments this summer for men’s doubles and singles and I hope to compete in an amateur open on the professional tour this coming October. I also love music and play the guitar and bass in some groups for fun.
