Horswill said - taught in the English department of the University of Chicago and wrote books and essays that focused on a grab bag of Americana, from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Anita Hill, seeking in history and current events broader lessons about nationalism, sexuality and power.
Professor Berlant (pronounced burr-LANT) - who used the pronoun she in her personal life but they professionally, Mr. Professor Berlant’s partner, Ian Horswill, said the cause was cancer. Lauren Berlant, an influential scholar best known for exploring the effects on people of declining economic prospects and fraying social bonds in the 2011 book “Cruel Optimism,” which spoke to the frustrations of Americans reeling from the financial crisis of the late 2000s, died on June 28 at 63 in a hospice facility in Chicago.
