Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- I FOUNDING MATTERS -- 1 Hegemony of the Vernacular -- 2 Figural Economy of the Worldview -- 3 Illusions of Unfolding Time -- II FROM EUROPE TO THE GLOBE -- 4 The Epic Figure of Literary History -- 5 Cosmopolitical Grounding of Literature -- III UNPLANNED OBSOLESCENCE -- 6 The Use and Abuse of the Human -- 7 Collective Culture of Print -- 8 Reflections on the Force of the Figure -- Notes -- Index.