Scribner Seminar Program
2005 Course Description
The Hudson River in American Life
Instructor(s): Thomas Lewis, English
Why the Hudson? Far more than a short river flowing through New York State, the Hudson
is a thread that runs through the fabric of four centuries of American history, through
the development of American civilization—its culture, its community, and its consciousness.
For those living in the United States the Hudson is the river of firsts: the first
great river explorers came upon when they arrived in the New World; the first river
that led explorers into the continent's uncharted interior; the river that was the
first line of defense in the American Revolution; the river of America's first writers,
the river that inspired America's first great painters; the river millions of immigrants
first encountered when they stepped off their boats onto their new land; the river
whose deep water port helped New York City become the nation's foremost financial
center; the river that inspired America's first conservationists. And in the late
twentieth century, after suffering extraordinary degradation, the river became the
first battleground of environmentalists. All these firsts in a landscape that numerous
authors have prized for its mystery, romance and ineffable beauty. This interdisciplinary
seminar should appeal to students interested in history, art history, literature,
biology, and the environment. It will include field trips to the artist Frederick
Edwin Church's house, Olana, the Saratoga battlefield and West Point, and will provide
opportunities for individual study on a variety of topics.