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Roundtable Discussion on Transcendentalism: State of the Field
November 1, 2007

Ronald A. Bosco (Distinguished Professor of English and American Literature, State Univ. of New York at Albany)
Joel Myerson (Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Distinguished Research Professor, Univ. of South Carolina)
Barbara L. Packer (Professor of English, UCLA)
Thomas R. Wortham (Professor of English, UCLA)

This roundtable discussion brings together four distinguished scholars of Transcendentalism, all of whom are affiliated with the definitive Harvard Univ. press edition of The Collected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Prof. Bosco is the General Editor of the Emerson edition; Prof. Packer wrote the Historical Introduction to Vol. 6 (The Conduct of Life); Prof. Myerson was the Textual Editor for vols. 8-10; Prof. Wortham is editing the volume of Emerson's poetry.  They are all, in addition, eminent and accomplished scholars of American literature with a large variety of other publications to their names.  Together they will address the current state of the field of Transcendentalist studies, and discuss prospects for future inquiry.