American Transcendentalism and the History of the Future

Location

Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094

Presentation Type

Presentation

Start Date

19-9-2018 12:00 PM

Description

On what can speculation about the near future be based but the past? Consideration reveals that discussions of imminent cultural changes expected or anticipated are also a form of history, a kind of story telling that gathers up the purposes and consequences of human action and directs them toward an understanding of the present day. In this session, Dr. Peter Kuryla and Dr. Andy Davis will each discuss how the American Transcendentalists wrote a history of the future. The talks will explore why the transcendentalists rejected dwelling in the past, why they preferred to prognosticate. Both short talks will examine how this attitude is still with us. It is wrong to say Americans do not care about history. We are concerned with the history of the future.

Comments

Convocation Credit: Society and the Arts and Sciences

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Sep 19th, 12:00 PM

American Transcendentalism and the History of the Future

Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094

On what can speculation about the near future be based but the past? Consideration reveals that discussions of imminent cultural changes expected or anticipated are also a form of history, a kind of story telling that gathers up the purposes and consequences of human action and directs them toward an understanding of the present day. In this session, Dr. Peter Kuryla and Dr. Andy Davis will each discuss how the American Transcendentalists wrote a history of the future. The talks will explore why the transcendentalists rejected dwelling in the past, why they preferred to prognosticate. Both short talks will examine how this attitude is still with us. It is wrong to say Americans do not care about history. We are concerned with the history of the future.