Program

7–9 pm — Evening Reception and Welcoming Remarks  
Conference Room, Center for the Study of World Religions, 42 Francis Ave., Cambridge

8:30–9 am — Light Breakfast

9–9:30 am — Opening Remarks
Charles M. Stang

9:30–10 am — Panel 1: History and Crisis
Russell Powell, John Kaag, and Kristen Case

Our first panel will highlight three ways Transcendentalism might be conceived of today by three Initiative affiliates who are teaching the tradition this fall. Transcendentalism, for Powell, Kaag, and Case, can be understood as a powerful response to crises of authority, a goad to personal transformation, an aesthetic awakening, and much more. 

10–11:15 am — Small Group Discussion 1

11:15 am–1:30 pm — Lunch

1:30–2 pm — Panel 2: Voices Without and Voices Within
Gosia Sklodowska, Alice de Galzain, and Phyllis Cole

Playing on Margaret Fuller’s Life Without and Life Within, this panel explores some of the lesser-known voices, traditions, and networks that shaped Transcendentalism from both without and within. It will also highlight emerging research and collaborative projects at the CSWR that are expanding how we understand the movement and its intellectual circles.

2–3:15 pm — Small Group Discussion 2

4–5:30 pm — Communal Reading of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Divinity School Address
Divinity Chapel, Divinity Hall

6 pm — Dinner at Harvest
44 Brattle St., Cambridge

9–9:30 am — Light Breakfast

9:30–10 am — Panel 3: Inheritance and Obligation
Peter Wirzbicki, Rochelle Johnson, and Robert Thorson

This final panel brings together scholars who apply an expansive conception of the Transcendentalist tradition to history, art, and science, exploring how Transcendentalism remains a dynamic force in our understanding of the past. Their inquiries and disciplinary practices emphasize the responsibilities involved in inheriting the Transcendentalist tradition today.

10–11:15 am — Small Group Discussion 3

11:15 am –1:30 pm — Lunch

1:30–3 pm — Small Group Discussion 4: Sharing Works-in-Progress and Collaborations

3:30–5:30 pm — Walking Tour of Transcendentalist History

6 pm — Dinner at Nubar
Sheraton Commander Hotel, 16 Garden St., Cambridge