The mid-nineteenth century U.S. cultural movement called transcendentalism has been described as an origin point of US philosophy, contemporary environmentalism, and racial and social justice. But transcendentalist writers such as Henry David Thoreau have also been accused of cultural appropriation, and been claimed by contemporary conservative thinkers for their resistance to government overreach and enthusiastic individualism. In this course, we'll consider transcendentalism in its mid-nineteenth-century historical context as we seek to make sense of its divergent legacies.

Major and minor works of the colonial period and the early republic by such writers as Edwards, Franklin, Rowlandson, Charles Brockden Brown, Cooper, and Irving. Prerequisite: 221 or 250 or consent of instructor. 1 unit - Goldberg.

This course explores the intertwined relations between humans, technology, and nature in contemporary contexts. Drawing on philosophy of technology, science and technology studies, bioethics, and environmental philosophy, we'll consider how technology shapes and mediates human relations with one another and with broader environments, and how technologies may challenge and disrupt traditional conceptions of human and animal 'natures.' Topics may include genetic modification of humans and animals, robot pets, de-extinction, high-tech biodiversity conservation, climate engineering, and novel ecosystems.