Harvard Divinity School Scholar to Speak at MCLA on March 11

NORTH ADAMS — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) will welcome Russell Powell, research associate at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School, as part of its Green Living Seminar Series on Wednesday, March 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation, Room 121.

Powell will present “Emerson’s Transcendentalism and Ecology: Politics Beyond Cynicism.” His talk will explore Ralph Waldo Emerson’s shifting concept of nature across the early and middle parts of his career, from the publication of his first book, Nature, through his second series of Essays in 1844, as key to understanding how he overcame the temptation of political cynicism. Given the strong draw of cynicism in today’s fraught political climate, Powell argues that Emerson’s passage from despair to hope is particularly instructive in seeking paths forward amid multiple ecological crises.

Powell leads a research initiative on transcendentalism at the Center for the Study of World Religions and is currently completing a manuscript on the relevance of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s thinking for environmental ethics and politics. His research focuses on the religious, ethical, and political resonances of contemporary environmental issues, particularly the religious dimension of American environmental thought.

MCLA’s Green Living Seminar Series brings environmental experts, scholars, and practitioners to campus throughout the academic year to engage students and community members in conversations about sustainability, ecology, and people’s relationship with the natural world. All presentations will be recorded as podcasts available at mcla.edu/greenliving. The event is free and open to the public.