Walter Harding
Encyclopedia
Walter Harding was a distinguished professor of English at the State University of New York at Geneseo
and internationally recognized scholar of the life and work of Henry David Thoreau
. Harding was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts
, and received his B.S. from Bridgewater State College
in 1939, M.A. from the University of North Carolina
in 1947 and a Ph. D. from Rutgers University
in 1950.
, Rutgers University, and the University of North Carolina. He served as the chair of Geneseo's English Department for six years and was awarded several of SUNY
's highest honors. He became a University Professor in 1966 and Distinguished Professor in 1973. In 1983, one year after his retirement, he became the first SUNY faculty member to be granted an honorary doctorate from SUNY itself.
, serving as the society's first secretary. He also served as president of the group. During his career Harding amassed the largest and most comprehensive research collection of Thoreauviana. The extensive collection of more than 15,000 books, pamphlets, articles and other Thoreau memorabilia was donated to the Thoreau Society library at Walden Woods in Concord, Massachusetts
. The Milne Library at SUNY Geneseo also has copies of some items in the Harding collection.
State University of New York at Geneseo
The State University of New York at Geneseo—also known as SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo State, or, colloquially, Geneseo—is located in Geneseo, Livingston County, New York, United States. It is a University College of the State University of New York...
and internationally recognized scholar of the life and work of Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
. Harding was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Bridgewater, Massachusetts
For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Bridgewater, please see the article Bridgewater , Massachusetts.The Town of Bridgewater is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, 28 miles south of Boston. At the 2000 Census, the population was 25,185...
, and received his B.S. from Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater State University is a public liberal-arts college in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the largest college in the Massachusetts state university system outside of the University of Massachusetts system. The school's mascot is the bear.-History:BSU was founded by...
in 1939, M.A. from the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
in 1947 and a Ph. D. from Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
in 1950.
Career
Harding spent most of his career at SUNY Geneseo, where he arrived in 1956, although he previously taught at the University of VirginiaUniversity of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
, Rutgers University, and the University of North Carolina. He served as the chair of Geneseo's English Department for six years and was awarded several of SUNY
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
's highest honors. He became a University Professor in 1966 and Distinguished Professor in 1973. In 1983, one year after his retirement, he became the first SUNY faculty member to be granted an honorary doctorate from SUNY itself.
Scholarship
Harding authored more than twenty-five books and many articles on Thoreau and his circle. Harding's biography of Thoreau, The Days of Henry David Thoreau, is considered a definitive study of Thoreau's life. Harding also edited an edition of Thoreau's Walden that restores Thoreau's sketches to the text and includes copious footnotes. Harding helped to found the Thoreau SocietyThoreau Society
Established in 1941, the Thoreau Society has long contributed to the dissemination of knowledge about Henry David Thoreau by collecting books, manuscripts, and artifacts relating to Thoreau and his contemporaries, by encouraging the use of its collections, and by publishing articles in two Society...
, serving as the society's first secretary. He also served as president of the group. During his career Harding amassed the largest and most comprehensive research collection of Thoreauviana. The extensive collection of more than 15,000 books, pamphlets, articles and other Thoreau memorabilia was donated to the Thoreau Society library at Walden Woods in Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
. The Milne Library at SUNY Geneseo also has copies of some items in the Harding collection.
Legacy
In addition to the research collection that bears his name, Harding's impact on Thoreau scholarship and SUNY Geneseo is registered in several ways. Harding's wife, Marjorie Brook Harding, endowed an annual lecture at SUNY Geneseo that bears his name. Each fall, the Walter Harding Lecture brings a distinguished scholar of American literature related to Thoreau and his circle of transcentalists to the campus. In 2009, Mrs. Harding increased the annual lecture's endowment. Geneseo's English Department holds meetings, special events, and lectures in the Walter Harding Room of Welles Hall, and the department annually awards the Walter Harding American Studies Award to a graduating senior in the American studies program. After his death, a book of essays was published in his memory: Thoreau Among Others: Essays In Honor of Walter Harding.Walter Harding Lecturers
- 2004: Joel MyersonJoel MyersonJoel Myerson is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English Language and Literature at the University of South Carolina. He has edited many books about the works of such American literary figures as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Emily...
Distinguished Professor of American Literature at University of South CarolinaUniversity of South CarolinaThe University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
. "Not Instruction, But Provocation: Ralph Waldo Emerson on the Pursuit of Knowledge." - 2005: Ronald A. BoscoRonald A. BoscoRonald A. Bosco is the Distinguished Professor of English and American Literature at the University at Albany, State University of New York, is currently President of the Association for Documentary Editing and General Editor of published by Harvard University Press...
, Distinguished University Professor of English and American Literature at SUNY Albany. "I came near awakening this morning: The Days of Emerson and Thoreau at Walden." - 2006: Ed Folsom, Carver Professor of American Literature at the University of IowaUniversity of IowaThe University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. "Walt Whitman's 1855 Leaves of Grass: Think Again." - 2007: Betsy Erkkila, Henry Sanborn Noyes Professor of Literature at Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. "Romancing the Revolution: Jefferson's Declaration" - 2008: Frances Smith Foster, Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Women's Studies at Emory UniversityEmory UniversityEmory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
. "'Freedom's Journal' and its Work; or Facts, Falsehoods and Common Sense." - 2009: Michael WarnerMichael WarnerMichael Warner is a literary critic, social theorist, and Seymour H. Knox Professor of English Literature and American Studies at Yale University. He also writes for Art Forum, The Nation, The Advocate, and The Village Voice...
, Seymour H. Knox Professor of English, Professor of American Studies, Yale UniversityYale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. "The Evangelical Black Atlantic." - 2010: Caleb Crain, independent scholar, author of American Sympathy: Men, Friendship and Literature in the New Nation, the novella Sweet Grafton, and articles in The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, The NationThe NationThe Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, The New York Times MagazineThe New York Times MagazineThe New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
and The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...
. "Melville's Secrets."