Thoreau and DeCerteau

Your first set of readings for this class are on 'walking' - one is called "Walking in the City" by Michel deCerteau (published 1984), the other, 'Walking' by Henry David Thoreau (published 1862). Though unified by the theme of walking, the contrasts are strong. DeCerteau's is a meditation about the power of the pedestrian in the metropolis to subvert to intentions of the elite - planners, develops, architects. It begins with an inspection of Manhattan from the top of the World Trade Centre. Thoreau's essay starts with the incandescent line "I wish to speak a word for nature, for absolute freedom and wildness...". Clearly, Thoreau's concerns are those beyond the town's perimeter. The two together present a curious study in opposition - nature and culture, wilderness and city, ecosystem and anthrosystem. But there is more than just pure opposition here. Both essayists are concerned about human freedom, both are concerned with how the individual navigates herself through the world.Your reading, and your discussion, should begin with a straightforward attempt to unravel the meaning of these texts. After this, we will try to travel further into the significance of essays and their connections with the themes of the course.