Ivan Gaskell
Bard Graduate Center

Thoreau’s Wonder
Henry David Thoreau may not have proposed a comprehensive philosophy of wonder but in his writings–notably his journal (1838-1861), and in Walden; Or Life in the Woods (1854)–he makes innovative use of the term to articulate ideas about the entangled relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world. His claims inform contemporary ecological principles, environmental thinking, and ethical ideals. Despite his rejection of organized Christianity, Thoreau builds on a long-standing New England tradition of ascribing the working of wonders to divine providence. Thoreau speculates whether it might be possible to apply the principles of botanical observation and nomenclature allied to the sense of wonder to humans as well as to plants, advocating the “precision and copiousness of botanical language applied to the description of moral qualities!” (Journal, August 20, 1851). For Thoreau, artistic creation should instantiate moral qualities, but he believed that this ideal could scarcely be realized. Nonetheless, he explores it in a parable or thought experiment in the final chapter of Walden that represents his most far-reaching evocation of wonder. These remarks will explore Thoreau’s complex and innovative appeals to wonder both as an ingredient of the ecological study of the natural world and of human behavior in relation to it.

Ivan Gaskell is a historian and philosopher who worked at the Warburg Institute, Cambridge University and Harvard University before moving to Bard Graduate Center in 2012 as professor of Cultural History and Museum Studies. Using methodologies from history, philosophy, art history, and anthropology Gaskell investigates how humans make and use material items; how to create history with material items; and the role of museums in the generation of knowledge claims. He is the author, co-author, or editor of sixteen books, the most recent being Mindprints: Thoreau’s Material Worlds (2024). Questioning Museum Values: Infinity on Trial will be published in 2027. Gaskell has held fellowships at numerous institutions in North and South America and in Europe. Concurrent with his position at Bard Graduate Center, he is research associate in anthropology at both the Peabody Museum of Harvard University and the American Museum of Natural History, New York.

Tuesday, September 15, 12:15 pm

38 West 86th Street, Lecture Hall
Tea, coffee, and snacks will be served starting at noon.
No registration required.