It is common to view the environmental movement as a modern phenomenon, beginning in the mid-20th century. While it has certainly gained significant momentum over the past fifty years, is that really the best place to start if we want to understand it fully? Are there earlier works—great books—that served as influential precursors to today’s environmental thinking? Do any of these works address the idea of God’s creation? Are there classic works that explore such themes in depth?

Creation and the Classics is a seminar course designed to engage with classic works from the Western canon through the lens of environmental ethics. This summer seminar will examine three influential texts from the 19th and 20th centuries. These works wrestle with themes such as modernity, industrialization, the mind’s connection to nature, and the emerging concept of conservation. Rather than approaching environmental ethics solely through a modern framework, this course invites participants to think alongside authors who lived through these cultural transitions. We will engage with the Transcendentalism of Henry David Thoreau, the Theosophy of Frances Hodgson Burnett, and the Naturalism of Gene Stratton-Porter. Although these perspectives are not explicitly Christian, each offers valuable insights into the evolution of environmental thought. Together, they raise profound questions and reflections that can be meaningfully integrated into a Christian worldview.

Objectives

1. What does Thoreau believe about Modernity and its impact on man?
2. What is Transcendentalism and how does it shape Henry David Thoreau's time at Walden Pond?
3. What is central to David's interaction with Nature in "The Harvester"?
4. What are some reasons David loves his land so much?
5. How does Porter’s Naturalism lead to the themes woven in "The Harvester"?
6. Why exactly is Mary Lennox so sickly?
7. How does Mary find healing and how does her disposition change along with it?
8. How does the Body and Mind interact through human health during Mary's story arc?
9. What is Theosophy? How does it impact Burnett’s writing “The Secret Garden”?

Texts

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• The Harvester by Gene Stratton Porter