Contemporary processes of globalization have had a profound impact on cultural production and dissemination both intra- and cross-culturally. The dissemination of cultures on a global scale has led to multiple and complex effects, among them the formation of radical new modes of cultural interaction, transcultural flows, and hybridized knowledges, forms not easily understandable in terms of traditional models of discrete national or ethnic cultures/subcultures. Transcultural Experiments develops new scholarly and creative strategies out of this intersection of cultural traditions, specifically in Russia and the United States. Ellen E. Berry and Mikhail N. Epstein define and enact a transcultural method as an alternative to the legacies of cultural divisions and hegemony that have dominated both Western and Second Worlds. The book introduces a system of original concepts and genres of writing that will help in mapping twenty-first century global culture: 'transculture' (vs. multiculturalism), 'interference' (vs. difference), 'potentiation' (vs. deconstruction), ethics of imagination, and collective improvisation. The authors make a revolutionary argument in cultural studies that will be of profound interest to anyone concerned with finding new modes of intercultural communication between the former First and Second Worlds.

ELLEN E. BERRY is Associate Professor of English and Co-Chair of the English Department at Bowling Green State University.

MIKHAIL N. EPSTEIN is Associate Professor in the Department of Russian and East Asian Languages and Cultures at Emory University.

Introduction PART I: HISTORY Introducing Culturology Major Ideas and Thinkers The Laboratory of Contemporary Culture: Improvisational Practice and Transcultural Consciousness Postmodern Avant Gardes and Cultural Re-Invention PART II: THEORY Definitions Transculture in the Context of Contemporary Critical Theories Difference and Interference Transculture and Society Nomadic Desires and Transcultural Becomings Infinitions How does Newness Enter the Postmodern World? The Permanence of Newness and Spaces for Difference From History to Geography Potentiation and Virtuality Ethics and Imagination The Transcultural Imaginary PART III: ON PRACTICE On Genres Essay Catalogue Collective Improvisations Sample Improvisations Nomads at Home: Improvisation in the Academy InteLnet. Web Projects and Journals in the Humanities Hyperauthorship Poetry as a State-of Being Interactive Book of Books The Lawlessness of Genres Conclusion: Inconclusive Dialogue