American Literature Association

May 26-29, 2027

Boston, MA

Roundtable on James Finley’s Abolition and the Rise of US Environmentalism

The Thoreau Society seeks papers for a roundtable on James Finley’s recently released Abolition and the Rise of US Environmentalism: The Literature and Politics of Free Soil (University of North Carolina Press, 2026). Papers may respond to or extend Finley’s book in part or in whole, and may include topics such as:

-Abolition and environmentalism

-The Free-Soil movement

-Settler colonization and abolition

-Racial capitalism 

-Abolition then and now

-Climate change and C19 movements for social change

-The relation between Black abolitionism and environmentalism 

-Alternatives to Garrisonian abolition

We welcome papers that address any of the above concerns, but we also encourage proposals that engage with any other aspect of Finley’s book, or related topics.

Send brief abstracts and a CV to Alex Moskowitz (amoskowitz@mtholyoke.edu) by December 4, 2026. Inquires welcome!