Environment and the Humanities

In 2011-12 Professor Jedediah Purdy will be co-convening a yearlong faculty-student reading group on Environment and the Humanities with Professor Michael Hardt of the Literature Department. Sponsored by the Franklin Humanities Institute, these reading groups are intended to enrich the intellectual life of the university by enabling faculty and graduate students from around Duke (and sometimes UNC) to explore themes of common interest together.

We expect to spend our fall meetings on early-modern political thought, probably including Hobbes, Locke, Montaigne, and less well-known figures, with an eye to understanding the role that ideas of nature played in their views of politics, law, and social order. For the second semester, we will spend more time on American materials and legal themes. The group will meet roughly eight times throughout the year. The reading group involves no credit or formal evaluation, but provides an opportunity to work collaboratively with other students and faculty. It will involve intensive engagement with challenging material, but also good conversation and snacks.

If you're interested in enrolling, please contact Professor Purdy.