Course Description

Henry David Thoreau is one of the most influential transcendentalists of our time. His texts, particularly Walden, have fascinated readers for years with his flowing, poetic prose where he ponders his and humanity’s relationship to Nature. This class seeks to explore just what made Thoreau the writer he became, and how his relationship with Nature can teach us how to get closer to the world around us.

Course Learning Outcomes

— Students will analyze Thoreau’s ideologies as a writer, human, and transcendentalist by reading selections from Walden and other works discussing his personal life and writing journey.

— Students will be able to use their knowledge gained about Thoreau’s life and philosophy to develop a new relationship to nature in your own writing or, if not a writer, with nature itself through a series of Nature Writing assignments.

— Students will be able to construct a small creative work/reflective essay combination at the end of the term discussing what you enjoyed (or didn’t) about Thoreau and his work while examining observations gathered throughout the term spending time outside or in nature.

Assignments