American Literature Association

May 20-23, 2026

Chicago, IL

Thoreau, Place, and Travel

 While Thoreau did make it out past Chicago and to Wisconsin during his lifetime, he was not a great traveler in any traditional sense: as he writes in the “Economy” section of Walden, “I have traveled a good deal in Concord.” From the flora and fauna of the Concord woods to the economic cross currents that connected his hometown to the larger global economy, Thoreau’s writing and thought are deeply marked by place. And while he didn’t travel much, a large portion of his writing chronicles the traveling that he did do—through the Maine woods, down the length of Cape Cod, and into the depths of the Concord jail. For this panel, we are interested in thinking broadly about what place and travel do for Thoreau’s thinking, whether political, ecological, or otherwise.

Please send abstracts and short CVs to Alex Moskowitz (amoskowitz@mtholyoke.edu) by January 15th. Informal inquiries in advance of the deadline are also highly encouraged!