Transcendentalism in the US and UK

In the period from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Divinity School Address in 1838 to the death of Margaret Fuller in 1850, Transcendentalism flourished in New England.  However it also appeared in a slightly different form in Great Britain.  We will examine the influences of German philosophy, Eastern scriptures, and the British Romantics on both sides of the Atlantic.  We will trace the development of Transcendentalism as literary and philosophical influences translated into social reform.  This course will examine Transcendentalism as a type of nineteenth century Unitarianism that persists in modern Unitarian Universalism.  Most of our texts will be found online as our emphasis will be on nineteenth century documents which are out of copyright:  philosophy, essays, scriptures and biographies.  Students are expected to read The Transcendentalists by Barbara Packer and American Transcendentalism by Philip Gura IN ADVANCE.