Without Emerson and Thoreau (both were Unitarians) the United States would not have developed into the nation it has become. We would not believe in the power of the individual to the extent that we do, nor would we see nature at the center of one view of the American psyche.
If Emerson gave us a new view of America and American thinking, Thoreau gave us a new way of living and a new vision of each individual.
This course has 4 DVDs with a total of 24 talks. We will start this series of classes on January4th 2026.
This course, taught by Professor Ashton Nichols Ph.D. of the University of Virginia, explores the philosophical and literary movement of American Transcendentalism through the lives and ideas of its two central figures, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.
The course covers:
- An introduction to the lives and ideas of Emerson and Thoreau.
- The roots of American Transcendentalism, drawing on European and non-Western thought.
- Emerson’s role as the intellectual “father” of the movement and his influence on American thought, education, and politics.
- Thoreau as “an American original,” including his time at Walden Pond and his political views.
- Other key figures in the movement, such as William Ellery Channing, Theodore Parker, Amos Bronson Alcott, and Louisa May Alcott.
- How Transcendentalism emphasized the individual, intuition, the divine in nature, and a unique American spirituality.