UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Emeritus Academy, sponsored by the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, the Office of Faculty Affairs, and the University Libraries, will host its fourth lecture, "The Secret History of Walden Pond," this week at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5, in Foster Auditorium at Pattee-Paterno Library, University Park.
The lecture is open to the public and also will take place via Zoom for those unable to attend in person.
The lecture is part of "Explorations: The Emeritus Academy Lecture Series" and Academy Professor Ian Marshall will reveal how Walden Pond influenced pivotal moments in history and faces ongoing environmental challenges.
Marshall is professor emeritus of English and environmental studies at Penn State Altoona. He is co-founder (with Carolyn Mahan) of the University’s first Environmental Studies program and former president of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE).
He has authored seven books, among them "Story Line: Exploring the Literature of the Appalachian Trail" (U of Virginia Press, 1998); "Peak Experiences: Walking Meditations on Literature, Nature, and Need" (Virginia, 2003); "Walden by Haiku" (U of Georgia Press, 2009); and a collection of poems called "Circumambulations" (Foot Hills Press, 2018).
He also is editor of "Reading Shaver's Creek: Ecological Reflections from an Appalachian Forest" (Penn State University Press, 2018), a collection of writings from the first 10 years of the Shaver's Creek "Long-Term Ecological Reflections Project," which he initiated in 2006.
Among several dozen scholarly articles, Marshall has published five that deal with Thoreau. He also once taught a class at Altoona where "Walden" was read, and a replica of Thoreau's cabin was built.
Attendees are encouraged to park at the Nittany Deck, located on Fischer Road off Park Avenue. Accessible parking is available for those with valid Penn State permits. Visitors can also utilize the free campus shuttle services, including the Blue and White Loops, Red Link, and Campus Shuttle. These ADA-accessible shuttles stop directly outside Pattee Library. For more information on parking and shuttle services, visit Transportation Services.