History 350
AMERICAN TRANSCENDENTALISM
MWF 1:00 – 1:50, Howarth 203
Spring 2010
William Breitenbach
Office phone: 879-3167
E-mail: wbreitenbach@ups.edu
Web: http://www.pugetsound.edu/faculty-pages/1002752
Office: Wyatt 141
Office hours:
Tu Th 9-10 and 12-1
and by appointment
This course is a history of American Transcendentalism from the 1830s to the early 1850s. We’ll
study the movement by reading what the Transcendentalists and their critics wrote. Because
Transcendentalism was a theological, philosophical, literary, and social-reform movement, we’ll
need to be versatile and take an interdisciplinary approach to our subject. We’ll begin by
investigating the emergence of Transcendentalism as a religious and philosophical revolt against
prevailing doctrines of New England thought. Then we’ll look at it as a literary and cultural
movement, examining both its aesthetic theory and its expressive practice. Finally, we’ll explore
the ramifications of Transcendentalism in politics and social reform, studying the involvement of
Transcendentalists in the antislavery, feminist, and communitarian movements. At each stage,
we’ll read not only the Transcendentalists’ declarations of their beliefs but also the angry,
derisive, and skeptical responses those declarations provoked. By the end of the semester, you
should have gained a good understanding of why Transcendentalism was one of the more
controversial and influential movements in American cultural history.
By semester’s end, you should also have acquired, to quote the guidelines of the now-defunct
Comparative Values core, an understanding of “the way value judgments . . . enter into and shape
human activity.” The Transcendentalists were centrally preoccupied with values—defining
them, defending them, and applying them. During the coming weeks, we’ll study the emergence
of the Transcendentalists’ value system in their philosophical and theological rebellion against
Unitarianism, a rebellion that set their Romantic idealism and intuitionalism against the
Unitarians’ Enlightenment values of Lockean empiricism. We’ll investigate the metaphysical,
epistemological, and religious controversy that ensued as Transcendentalists defied their
Unitarian elders by claiming that humans were divine beings with immediate access to the realm
of Spirit, a realm that they declared to be the true reality. We’ll also trace Transcendentalists’
attempts to apply their ideas about human divinity to the world around them—in aesthetics,
personal relationships, politics, and social reform. In applying their values, Transcendentalists
found themselves in conflict not just with their Unitarian elders but also with one another and
with themselves, as self-reliant individualists confronted communitarian socialists and as aging
idealists strained to reconcile youthful hopes with chastening experience. Finally, we’ll have the
chance to consider whether the Transcendentalists’ values and examples are relevant for us
today, as we ask ourselves what Ralph Waldo Emerson called “the practical question of the
conduct of life: How shall I live?”
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History 350
Spring 2010
BOOKS AND WEBSITES
Required books. For sale at the Bookstore; ones with an asterisk are also on library reserve.
Barbara L. Packer, The Transcendentalists (University of Georgia Press)* [This book first
appeared as a chapter in Sacvan Bercovitch, ed., The Cambridge History of American
Literature, vol. 2, Prose Writing, 1820-1865, which is the version placed on reserve.]
Perry Miller, ed., The Transcendentalists: An Anthology (Harvard University Press)*
Stephen E. Whicher, ed., Selections from Ralph Waldo Emerson: An Organic Anthology
(Houghton Mifflin, Riverside edition)*
Walt Whitman, Song of Myself (Dover Thrift edition)
Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience and Other Essays (Dover Thrift edition)
Margaret Fuller, Woman in the Nineteenth Century (Dover Thrift edition)
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance (Dover Thrift edition)
Henry David Thoreau, Walden; or, Life in the Woods (Dover Thrift edition)
History 350 Readings Packet (a photocopied course reader; listed in the syllabus as “[RP]”)
Blackboard website. Readings labeled with “[Bb]” may be found online at the Blackboard
website for History 350 (course ID: Hist350aSp10) at http://blackboard.ups.edu/. I’ll also place
on Blackboard the syllabus, paper assignments, general advice, and useful web links. The
password allowing access to the course site will be provided in class: ____________________.
Helpful library books:
Philip F. Gura, American Transcendentalism: A History [the most recent overview of
Transcendentalism, especially strong on the years after 1850; published 2007]
Anne C. Rose, Transcendentalism as a Social Movement, 1830-1850 [the best social
history of the Transcendentalist movement; published 1981]
Charles Capper and Conrad Edick Wright, eds., Transient and Permanent: The
Transcendentalist Movement and Its Contexts [a collection of fine scholarly essays
on various aspects of Transcendentalism; published 1999; a copy is on reserve]
Joel Myerson, ed., The Transcendentalists: A Review of Research and Criticism
[a very helpful bibliography published in 1984; its coverage runs to 1982]
Joel Myerson, ed., Transcendentalism: A Reader [an anthology of Transcendentalists’
writings, with a bibliography and suggestions for further reading; published 2000]
Henry W. Sams, ed., Autobiography of Brook Farm [a fine selection of primary sources
relating to the Brook Farm community; originally published 1958]
American Literary Scholarship [published annually since the 1960s, it gives a summary
of each year’s most important scholarly studies of Transcendentalism]
Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism, vol. 24 [contains extended excerpts from the
best critical studies of Transcendentalism written from the late 19th century to the
1980s; it is found in the library’s Reference stacks]
Studies in the American Renaissance [a scholarly journal that focuses on the period in
which the Transcendentalists flourished; E415.8 S7 in the regular stacks]
Website: Ann Woodlief of Virginia Commonwealth University has created an excellent website
on Transcendentalism: http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism. It has documents by the
Transcendentalists, scholarly essays about the movement, and links to other websites.
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History 350
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PROCEDURES, REQUIREMENTS, EXPECTATIONS
Class attendance and participation
This will be a discussion class. That means everyone needs to show up on time with the
reading assignment completed, books and notes in hand, and ideas to talk about. Always bring the
day’s assigned readings to class, so you can refer to particular passages during discussions. Once
every two weeks each student will submit a card with a discussable question, quotation, or claim
about the day’s readings. We’ll use these cards to launch our class discussions.
Be ready to join the conversation. Put your ideas and insights out there for classmates to
endorse, challenge, and transform. Be willing to ask a question, confess confusion, take a stand,
and change your mind when presented with better evidence and reasoning. Listen attentively and
respond respectfully to what your classmates have to say. Speaking directly to them (rather than
through me) is a way of showing that you take them and their ideas seriously.
Your participation will be important in determining both the success of the course and the
grade that you receive in it. After every class, I’ll evaluate your contribution to other students’
learning. Students who make outstanding contributions will get a 4, those who contribute
significantly will get a 3, and those who attend but say little will get a 2. Students who are not in
the classroom will get a 0. After a ninth absence (which is more than 20% of the classes), a
student is subject to being dropped from the course with a WF. Please notify me by email if you
are going to miss a class.
Writing assignments. There will be four major writing assignments in this course:

a 7-page essay on Transcendentalism as a religious movement. It is due at my office (Wyatt
141) by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 23. It counts as 20% of the course grade.

a 7-page paper on Transcendentalism as a literary/cultural movement. It is due at my office
(Wyatt 141) by 4:00 pm. on Tuesday, March 23. It counts as 20% of the course grade.

a 7-page paper on Transcendentalism as a political/social reform movement. It is due at my
office (Wyatt 141) by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20. It counts as 20% of the course grade.

a final exam on Wednesday, May 12, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. in our regular classroom. It
counts as 20% of the course grade. You must take your final exam at the scheduled time, so
arrange your travel plans accordingly. By university policy, I cannot grant exceptions.
Writing help
The UPS Center for Writing and Learning is located in Howarth 109. Its mission is to help
all writers, at whatever level of ability, become better writers. To make an appointment, call
879-3404, email writing@ups.edu, or drop by Howarth 109.
Harvard University’s Writing Center has an excellent website with useful advice on writing
papers: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr [Bb]. Click on “Writing Resources” and then on
“Strategies for Essay Writing” to find eighteen online “handouts.”
For more advice, see the “Syllabus & Info” section of the Blackboard website for Hist 350.
Grading
Grade ranges are A (93-100), A- (90-92), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79),
C (73-76), C- (70-72), D+ (67-69), D (63-66), D- (60-62), and F (below 60). I will round up to
the next higher letter grade when the numerical score is within 0.2 points of the cut-off (for
example, if you make it up to 89.8, you’ll get an A-). Graded work will be weighted as follows:
first paper 20%, second paper 20%, third paper 20%, final exam 20%, and participation 20%.
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History 350
Spring 2010
Paper extensions, late work, and missing work
If you are facing circumstances beyond your control that might prevent you from finishing a
paper on time, talk to me early. I tend to be more sympathetic before the deadline than after it.
Normally I do not grant paper extensions or “Incomplete” grades except for weighty and dire
reasons like a family emergency or a serious illness. To request an exception for these or other
reasons, notify me before the deadline if possible. As appropriate provide written documentation
supporting your request from a medical professional; the Counseling, Health, and Wellness
Services (CHWS); the Academic Advising Office; or the Dean of Students Office.
Late papers should be slipped under my office door at Wyatt 141. If Wyatt is locked, you
may send me the paper by email in order to stop the penalty clock, but you must then give me an
unaltered hard copy of the paper on the next day that Wyatt is open.
Unless I have granted an extension, late papers will be marked down one-third of a letter
grade (3⅓ points on a 100-point scale) for each day they are late (including Saturday and
Sunday), with days measured on a 24-hour clock beginning at the original deadline. For
example, a late paper scored 82 (B-) would receive a 78⅔ (C+) if submitted during the first 24
hours after the deadline. No paper or exam will be accepted after 5:00 pm on Friday of final
examination week. To pass the course, a student must complete all papers and exams.
Other policies.
Students who want to withdraw from the course should read the rules governing withdrawal
grades, which can be found in the Academic Handbook (link provided below). Monday, March 1,
is the last day to drop with an automatic W; thereafter it becomes much harder to escape a WF.
Students who are dropped for excessive absences or who abandon the course without officially
withdrawing will receive a WF.
Students who cheat or plagiarize; help others cheat or plagiarize; steal or mark library
materials; or otherwise violate the University’s standards of academic integrity will receive an F
for the course and will be reported to the Registrar. Before turning in your first paper, read the
discussion of academic honesty in the Academic Handbook (link provided below). Ignorance of
the concept or consequences of plagiarism will not be accepted as an excuse.
In matters not covered by this syllabus, I follow the policies set down in the current
Academic Handbook, which is available online at http://www.pugetsound.edu/studentlife/student-resources/student-handbook/academic-handbook/.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Reading assignments are to be completed before the class meeting for which they are listed.
Bring this syllabus, the day’s assigned readings, and your reading notes to class.
UNIT ONE: CONTEXTS
1.
Wed., Jan. 20: Introduction to the Course
In-class reading: poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson
2.
Fri., Jan. 22: Overviews
Course syllabus (This is your agreement with me. Read it!)
Lawrence Buell, "Introduction," The American Transcendentalists, xi-xxviii [Bb]
Miller, Transcendentalists, "Introduction," 2-15
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3.
Mon., Jan. 25: The Social Context: Market Revolution
Robert A. Gross, "Culture and Cultivation: Agriculture and Society in Thoreau's
Concord," Journal of American History 69 (1982): read only 42-55 [Bb] also
available directly through JSTOR at http://www.jstor.org/stable/1887751
Anne C. Rose, “Boston Unitarianism, 1790-1840,” in Transcendentalism as a Social
Movement, 1830-1850, 1-21, 28-37 [Bb]
4.
Wed., Jan. 27: The Religious Context: Unitarianism
Conrad Wright, “Rational Religion in Eighteenth-Century America,” in The Liberal
Christians: Essays on American Unitarian History, 1-21 [Bb]
Packer, Transcendentalists, 1-19
William Ellery Channing, “Unitarian Christianity” [RP, 2-7]
Miller, Transcendentalists (Assignments in this book are listed by chapter and selection
numbers, as well as by page numbers; e.g., Channing’s piece is chap. 1, selection 3.)
1(3): William Ellery Channing, “Likeness to God,” 21-25
5.
Fri., Jan. 29: The Philosophical Context: The Assault on Locke
Packer, Transcendentalists, 20-31
Miller, Transcendentalists
2(1): Alexander H. Everett, “History of Intellectual Philosophy,” 26-33
2(2): James Marsh, “Preliminary Essay,” 34-39
2(6): James Freeman Clarke, “Autobiography,” 47-48
3(3): George Ripley, “Charles Follen’s Inaugural Discourse,” 59-63
3(6): Frederic Henry Hedge, “Coleridge,” 66-72
3(10): James Walker, “Foundations of Faith,” 82-84
UNIT TWO: THE RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT
6.
Mon., Feb. 1: Emergence of Transcendentalism
Last day to drop without record
Packer, Transcendentalists, 32-45
Miller, Transcendentalists
2(3): Timothy Walker, “Signs of the Times,” read only the last paragraph on 42b-43
2(4): James Freeman Clarke, “The Influence of Carlyle,” 43-44
2(5): Orestes A. Brownson, “The Everlasting Yes,” 45-47
3(11): Orestes A. Brownson, “Benjamin Constant,” 84-88
3(14): George Ripley, “Herder’s Theological Opinions and Services,” 94-97
3(16): George Ripley, “Schleiermacher as a Theologian,” 99-102
3(17): Orestes A. Brownson, “Education of the People,” 102-03
Whicher, Emerson, 6b-20 (Dip into Emerson’s journal entries; read what’s of interest.)
7.
Wed., Feb. 3: Nature and Spirit
Packer, Transcendentalists, 46-51m
Whicher, Emerson, “Nature,” 21-56 (Whicher’s anthology has helpful explanatory
notes beginning on p. 469. Consult them as you proceed through this book.)
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8.
Fri., Feb. 5: New Views of Religion
Whicher, Emerson (bring this book to class so we can finish discussing “Nature”)
Packer, Transcendentalists, 51m-54m
Miller, Transcendentalists
4(1): Orestes A. Brownson, “Victor Cousin,” 106-14
4(2): Brownson, “New Views of Christianity, Society, and the Church,” 114-23
9.
Mon., Feb. 8: Annus Mirabilis, 1836
Packer, Transcendentalists, 54m-61
Miller, Transcendentalists
4(3): William Henry Furness, “Remarks on the Four Gospels,” 124-29
4(4): George Ripley, “Martineau’s Rationale,” 129-32
4(5): George Ripley, “Discourses on the Philosophy of Religion,” 132-40
4(6): Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, “Record of a School,” 140-50
4(7): Amos Bronson Alcott, “Conversations with Children on the Gospels,” 150-56
10. Wed., Feb. 10: Lines Drawn: The Divinity School Address
Packer, Transcendentalists, 72t-76b
Miller, Transcendentalists
5(1): Andrews Norton, “Ripley’s Martineau,” 157-60
5(2): George Ripley, “To Andrews Norton,” 160-63
5(6): Martin Luther Hurlbut, “Furness’ Remarks,” 171-73
5(7): Francis Bowen, “Emerson’s Nature,” 173-76
5(8): Francis Bowen, “Locke and Transcendentalists,” 177-78
5(11): Orestes A. Brownson, “Francis Bowen,” 183-86
Whicher, Emerson, “The Divinity School Address,” 97-116
11. Fri., Feb. 12: The Miracles Controversy
Packer, Transcendentalists, 76b-84m
Henry Ware, Jr., “The Personality of the Deity” [RP, 8-12]
Whicher, Emerson, 116-21
Miller, Transcendentalists
5(16): Andrews Norton, “The New School in Literature and Religion,” 193-96
5(17): The Christian Examiner, “Emerson’s Address,” 196-98
5(18): Orestes A. Brownson, “Emerson’s Address,” 198-200
5(19): James Freeman Clarke and Christopher Pearse Cranch, “R. W. Emerson and
the New School,” 200-04
5(21): Orestes A. Brownson, “Norton’s Evidence,” 205-09
5(22): Andrews Norton, “A Discourse on the Latest Form of Infidelity,” 210-13
5(23): George Ripley, “The Latest Form of Infidelity Examined,” 213-20
12. Mon., Feb. 15: The Transient and Permanent
Packer, Transcendentalists, 84m-93
Miller, Transcendentalists
5(25): Theodore Parker, “The Previous Questions between Mr. Andrews Norton
and His Alumni,” 226-31
6(4): Theodore Parker, “A Discourse of the Transient and Permanent in
Christianity,” 259-83
Whicher, Emerson, “Circles,” 168-78
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UNIT THREE: THE LITERARY AND CULTURAL MOVEMENT
13. Wed., Feb. 17: Beyond the Pulpit: The American Scholar
Packer, Transcendentalists, 62-72b
Whicher, Emerson, 57-96, esp. “The American Scholar,” 63-80
Miller, Transcendentalists
5(12): William Henry Channing, “Emerson’s American Scholar,” 186-88
8(22): Theodore Parker, “The Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson,” 414-21
9(3): Orestes A. Brownson, “Emerson,” 431-34
14. Fri., Feb. 19: Self-Reliance: Emerson as Lecturer, Essayist, and Public Intellectual
Packer, Transcendentalists, 138t-45b
Whicher, Emerson, 122-24b, 364b, 136m-68, esp. “Self-Reliance,” 147-68
Emerson, “The Over-Soul” [RP, 13-24]
15. Mon., Feb. 22: The Dial: New Vocations as Editors, Reviewers, and Cultural Critics
Packer, Transcendentalists, 94-103m, 111b-21t
Miller, Transcendentalists
6(1): Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Editors to the Reader,” 247-51
8(8): Margaret Fuller, “A Short Essay on Critics,” 366-68
8(9): Margaret Fuller, “Menzel’s View of Goethe,” 369-72
8(11): Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The New Poetry,” 375-78t (stop at the poems)
8(19): Margaret Fuller, “A Record of Impressions,” 404-07
8(20): Sophia Dana Ripley, “Painting and Sculpture,” 407-10
8(21): John Sullivan Dwight, “Music,” 410-14
A 7-page essay on Transcendentalism as a religious movement is due
at my office (Wyatt 141) by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 23.
16. Wed., Feb. 24: Informal Forms of Expression: Conversations, Aphorisms, Journals
Packer, Transcendentalists, 114-17 (again)
Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, “The Conversations of Margaret Fuller” [RP, 25-29]
Miller, Transcendentalists
7(4): Amos Bronson Alcott, “Orphic Sayings,” 303-14
8(1): Margaret Fuller, “Memoirs,” 331-39
Whicher, Emerson, 124b-36m, 179-87t
17. Fri., Feb. 26: Thoreau’s Excursions
Packer, Transcendentalism, 121-28, 181m-87m; 248-49
Miller, Transcendentalists
7(6): Henry David Thoreau, “The Natural History of Massachusetts,” 324-30
Thoreau, “Walking,” in Civil Disobedience and Other Essays, 49-74
18. Mon., Mar. 1: The Poet as Seer and Seer as Poet
Last day to drop with automatic W
Whicher, Emerson, “The Poet,” 222-41
Packer, Transcendentalists, 151 middle paragraph
Whicher, Emerson, 407-67: Sample several of the following poems: The Rhodora,
Each and All, The Snow-Storm, Concord Hymn, The Problem, The Apology, Uriel,
Hamatreya, Ode, Bacchus, Merlin, Days, Brahma, Two Rivers, and Terminus
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19. Wed., Mar. 3: Other Poets and Seers
Miller, Transcendentalists, sample some of the following poems:
8(7): Jones Very, “Poems,” 356-65, esp. “The Garden,” 358-59
8(11): Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The New Poetry,” 378-81 (poems by Channing)
8(12): William Ellery Channing, “Poems,” 381-83
8(14): Christopher Pearse Cranch, “Poems,” 385-95
8(15): Henry D. Thoreau, “Poems,” 396-401, esp. “The Inward Morning,” 400-01
8(16): Margaret Fuller, “A Dialogue,” 402
8(17): Ellen Sturgis Hooper, “I Slept, and Dreamed that Life was Beauty,” 402-03
8(18): Caroline Sturgis Tappan, “Poems,” 403-04
Whitman, Song of Myself (read at least through pp. 1-4, esp. section 5)
20. Fri., Mar. 5: Walt Whitman, Self-Singer
Whitman, Song of Myself (finish it)
Letters by Emerson and Thoreau about Whitman [RP, 30]
Whicher, Emerson, 362-363m
UNIT FOUR: THE SOCIAL REFORM MOVEMENT
21. Mon., Mar. 8: The Transcendentalist as Citizen
Packer, Transcendentalists, 129-32t, 145b-47m
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Man the Reformer” [RP, 31-32]
Whicher, Emerson, “The Transcendentalist,” 187t-207m
22. Wed., Mar. 10: Brownson and Parker as Social Reformers
Packer, Transcendentalism, 103-11
Miller, Transcendentalists
9(5): Orestes A. Brownson, “The Laboring Classes,” 436-46
9(7): Theodore Parker, “A Sermon of Merchants,” 449-57
23. Fri., Mar. 12: Brook Farm as Transcendentalist Community
Packer, Transcendentalists, 132t-38t
Miller, Transcendentalists
6(2): George Ripley, “Letter to the Church in Purchase Street,” 251-57
6(3): George Ripley, “Farewell Discourse,” 258-59
9(9): Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, “Plan of the West Roxbury Community,” 464-69
(read after #18 in Sams)
Henry W. Sams, ed., The Autobiography of Brook Farm, selection numbers 2, 3, 4, 5,
7, 8, 18, 39, 44, 45, 46 [RP, 46-58]
SPRING VACATION: MARCH 15-19
24. Mon., Mar. 22: Alcott and Fruitlands
Packer, Transcendentalists, 147m-50m
Whicher, Emerson, re-read the journal entries on Alcott, 124b-131
A. Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane, “Fruitlands” [RP, 33]
Charles Lane and A. Bronson Alcott, “Consociate Family Life” [RP, 34-37]
Louisa May Alcott, "Transcendental Wild Oats" [RP, 38-45]
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A 7-page essay on Transcendentalism as a literary/cultural movement
is due at my office (Wyatt 141) by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23.
25. Wed., Mar. 24: Brook Farm as Fourierist Phalanx
Packer, Transcendentalists, 155t-64
Sams, Autobiography of Brook Farm, selection numbers 47, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 60, 61,
77, 85, 120, 123 [RP, 58-73]
Miller, Transcendentalists
9(10): George Ripley, “The Harbinger,” 469-71 (read it after #61 in Sams)
Rebecca Codman Butterfield, “Reminiscences of Brook Farm” [RP, 74-76]
26. Fri., Mar. 26: The Lessons of Experience
Packer, Transcendentalists, 150m-55t, 165-81
Whicher, Emerson, 207-09b on Waldo’s death; and esp. “Experience,” 253-74t
27. Mon., Mar. 29: Emerson’s Politics
Whicher, Emerson, 209b-22t; and esp. “Politics,” 241-52; and “Ode,” 439-42
Emerson, “Address at the Woman’s Rights Convention” [RP, 77-79]
28. Wed., Mar. 31: Thoreau’s Politics
Packer, Transcendentalists, 187m-95b
Thoreau, “Civil Disobedience” in Civil Disobedience and Other Essays, 1-18
Albert J. von Frank, “Mrs. Brackett’s Verdict: Magic and Means in Transcendental
Antislavery Work,” in Transient and Permanent: The Transcendentalist Movement
and Its Contexts, ed. Charles Capper and Conrad Edick Wright, 385-94, 403-04 [Bb]
29. Fri., Apr. 2: Antislavery
Packer, Transcendentalists, 218-36b
Thoreau, “Slavery in Massachusetts” and “A Plea for Captain John Brown,” in Civil
Disobedience and Other Essays, 19-48
Whicher, Emerson, 353-59t, 397-99t
30. Mon., Apr. 5: Fuller as Transcendentalist
Packer, Transcendentalists, 195b-204b
Fuller, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, vii-49 (Read up to “But to return to the thread
of my subject.” It helps to read first Fuller’s summary of her argument, from the
middle of page 92 [“And now I have designated in outline. . . .”] through page 98.)
31. Wed., Apr. 7: Fuller as Feminist
Fuller, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, 49b-59t, 61b-65m, 71m-74t, 75b-76m, 79t80b, 81b-85m, 90-98 (Don’t read the Appendix.)
Packer, Transcendentalists, 204b-17
UNIT FIVE: SOCIETY, SOLITUDE, AND SUMMING-UP
32. Fri., Apr. 9: A Knot of Dreamers
Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, v-42 (through “A Modern Arcadia)
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33. Mon., Apr. 12: Friends, Lovers, and Philanthropists
Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, 42-86 (through “A Crisis”)
34. Wed., Apr. 14: Hotel and Boarding-House: The City as Artificial Community
Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, 86-122 (through “Fauntleroy”)
35. Fri., Apr. 16: Masqueraders (and a Confession)
Hawthorne, Blithedale Romance, 122-56 (finish the book)
Whicher, Emerson, 403
36. Mon., Apr. 19: Emerson’s Fate
Packer, Transcendentalists, 236b-41m
Whicher, Emerson, 274t-83, 302-13m, 320b-21t, 328-30t, 376-77; esp. “Fate,” 330-52
A 7-page essay on Transcendentalism as a political/social reform movement
is due at my office (Wyatt 141) by 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20.
37. Wed., Apr. 21: Living Deliberately
Packer, Transcendentalists, 241m-57b
Thoreau, Walden, 1-64 (through "Where I Lived and What I Lived For”)
38. Fri., Apr. 23: Solitude and Society
Thoreau, Walden, 64-100 (through "Visitors")
39. Mon., Apr. 26: Fields of Vision
Thoreau, Walden, 100-36 (through "Baker Farm")
40. Wed., Apr. 28: Neighbors
Thoreau, Walden, 136-74 (through "Winter Visitors")
41. Fri., Apr. 30: Springs
Thoreau, Walden, 175-216 (finish the book)
42. Mon., May 3: Emerson and Thoreau
Packer, Transcendentalists, 257-74
Whicher, Emerson, esp. “Thoreau,” 378-95, and 327b, 402m
43. Wed., May 5: Recollections
Whicher, Emerson, 406
Miller, Transcendentalists
10(1): Theodore Parker, “Theodore Parker’s Experience as a Minister,” 484-93
10(2): Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Historic Notes of Life and Letters in New England,”
494-502
Final Exam: Wednesday, May 12, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. in our regular classroom.
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