How Does Thoreau Matter? Environmentalism and the Changing American Landscape (2013)

Roundtable discussion followed by reception with Conevery Bolton Valencius, Assistant Professor of History, University of Massachusetts, Boston; 
Brian Donahue, Associate Professor of American Studies, Brandeis University; and 
David Foster, Director of the Harvard Forest

Henry David Thoreau is widely viewed as an icon of the conservation movement and an early champion of America's pastoral landscapes. But do we read Thoreau accurately, or are we missing key parts of his message? What kind of landscape vision might Thoreau advocate were he living within today's complex environmental movement? Environmental historians Conevery Bolton Valencius, Brian Donahue, and ecologist David Foster will explore Thoreau's relevance to our lives today.