Thoreau, Wilderness, and American Writing

Using a rich combination of printed texts and hypertexts, this class at Dickinson College will seek to understand important connections between and among Henry David Thoreau, the tradition of environmental writing he began in America, and connections between that tradition and the idea(l) of wilderness. Our blog will allow us to engage a number of valuable questions that confront all students and scholars interested in the tradition of environmental literature in America, the sources of that tradition in a wider American culture, and the impact of that tradition on the current environmental movement, nationally and internationally. From the preservation of wild lands and debates about global warming, to the desire to protect certain animal species and the need to make use of our resources for the betterment of human lives and communities, we will explore the many ways that environmental writing has played a crucial role in the deployment of ideas which have helped to shape the texture of modern life in America and beyond.       --Professor Ashton Nichols