Epistemic Itineraries

'Epistemic Itineraries' explores the complex nature of reality within the diverse works of Mina Loy, a British-American modernist writer, visual artist, craftswoman, and inventor. Drawing on the semiotic-epistemic model of American pragmaticist Charles Sanders Peirce, Johanna Pelikan shows how Loy's multifaceted body of work is connected by a shared view of the universe as an infinitely re-negotiated creation. The study reveals how both Loy's fictional and non-fictional realities are characterized by moments of experiential instability, whether in her literary depictions of childhood, her lamp designs, or her assemblage art, all challenging a fixed perception of the world. Moving beyond traditional feminist and modernist frameworks, Johanna Pelikan's epistemological analysis of Loy's poetry, prose, inventions, craft, and visual art offers new avenues into the elusive but captivating work of a long-neglected avant-garde artist.; Dissertationsschrift