Matthew Farrelly

Position title: History and Humanities

Email: mfarrelly@wisc.edu

In the stream of other interventions concerned to explore the meanings & malaises of modernity (modernities), I am researching and writing on the educational philosophy and practice of the Scottish-American naturalist, John Muir. I am hoping to tell a story of how Muir made sense of his own 19th and early 20th century moment, paying especial attention to the ways he navigated the tensions between modern science, religion, spirituality, and nature in order to make sense of the human condition, the human relationship with the nonhuman world, and the purpose(s) of American Conservation and Nature Study.

Joining disciplines of history of education, intellectual history, and philosophy of education, I hope to examine Muir in his own context, trace a reception history of his writings used for environmental-educational applications, and explore how (and how not) Muir’s life and thought might speak to our present ecological crises.