The interface between literature and philosophy has seldom been more varied, more dynamic, more exciting and more important for our culture. This forward-thinking, non-traditional reference work is the first book to map out the ways in which new developments in twenty-first century philosophy are entering into dialogue with the study of literature. Not confined to the familiar methods of analytic philosophy and with a breadth of attention beyond traditional literary theory, this collection looks at the profound consequences of the interaction between philosophy and literature for questions of ethics, politics, subjectivity, materiality, reality and the nature of the contemporary itself. Key features: - Includes an orientational introduction by Claire Colebrook - Engages dynamic debates about what it means to be human in face of recent developments in science and technology, the repercussions of anthropogenic climate change, and the overall nature of our contemporary moment - Draws on new developments in philosophy including speculative realism, object-oriented ontology, the new materialisms, posthumanism, analytic philosophy of language and metaphysics, and ecophilosophy - Offers close readings of a range of texts from nineteenth- and twentieth-century classics such as Walden, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Nineteen Eighty-Four to contemporary novels such as A Visit from the Goon Squad and The Stone Gods David Rudrum is Senior Lecturer in Literature at the University of Huddersfield Ridvan Askin is Postdoctoral Teaching and Research Fellow in North American and General Literature at the University of Basel Frida Beckman is Professor of Comparative Literature at Stockholm University.