by Brian O'Riley | Sep 14, 2023 | Fireside Talks, National Park
Again and again in History 453 we have encountered the question, what is wilderness? I would argue that one of the most useful concepts in answering this question is to do away with absolutes — with the idea that “wilderness” is an absolute. —...
by Brian O'Riley | Sep 14, 2023 | Fireside Talks, National Park
Tanzania Journal (2) Recurring Introduction: During August, 2021, I went to Tanzania with my family — eight of us in all. During this Fall Quarter I will post notes and images about our Safari for our course on the American wilderness. Now, of course, Tanzania...
by Brian O'Riley | Sep 14, 2023 | Fireside Talks
In Chapter Three of Wilderness and the American Mind (“Romantic Wilderness”), Roderick Nash tells us that during the late eighteenth century European essayists studied human feelings in the presence of nature. He tells us that writers such as Edmund...
by Brian O'Riley | Sep 14, 2023 | Fireside Talks
I thought of posting what follows as an announcement. Then I thought, why not post it as a Fireside Talk. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you: One of my fields of study as an historian is colonial America and the Pilgrims. So every Thanksgiving when my family gathers, I...
by Brian O'Riley | Sep 14, 2023 | Fireside Talks
(This post, written several years ago, reviews some of our previous lessons about wilderness in general and Walden Pond in particular.) As we continue our History 453 visit to Walden Pond this weekend, I will show you more of the pond and its most famous resident,...
