Ralph Waldo Emerson

Divinity Chapel, "its history — and its current multifaith, multipurpose use — gives the space a mixed atmosphere of reverence and rebellion. For me, it’s a regular site of quiet reflection and renewal," says HDS Professor David Holland.

This talk contradicts the longstanding reading of Emerson as invested in idealism and instead charts his obsession with matter both organic and inorganic, organized and unorganized. By attending to his interest in sciences of life, Branka Arsić...

The following talk was given on April 28, 2018, by new HDS graduate Melissa Lago at the Bilbao International Literature Festival. This year’s theme was, “Return to nature, a literary utopia,” which sought to pay tribute to Henry David Thoreau and to...

July 15, 2013 marked the 175th anniversary of Ralph Waldo Emerson's famous "Divinity School Address," delivered to the HDS graduating class of 1838. The speech outraged many of Emerson's contemporaries but is today seen by many as a landmark in American...