John R. Gillis in The Blue Humanities says, “It was when nations turned away from the sea as a place of work that writers and painters turned their full attention to the sea itself.” Ironically, the catalyst in how we perceive the ocean transpired the very moment society deemed the ocean monotonous. The article examines how the sea had been viewed primarily through a utilitarian lens: “The focus was almost entirely on the ships and the skills of the men who manned them” In this distancing, artists, writers, and thinkers found space to reinterpret the ocean. When the sea was no longer “useful” in the traditional sense, it became meaningful in new ways. Gillis later includes another line that made a strong impression on me: “The awesome power of the sea, as witnessed from the safety of land, was a powerful and mental stimulant.” Confronting something grand and dangerous, but at a safe remove, incites a canvas for imagination. It triggers thoughts about the limits of human control and the vastness of the unknown. This mirrors romantic tradition where nature plays a big role in the narrative.

By the time I reached the end of Gillis’ essay, I began to reflect on my own connection to nature. The phrase “touch grass” comes to mind, this phrase is commonly used to remind someone that a natural world exists and clarity can be found by simply going outside to touch some grass. Nature has always been therapeutic, I tried to think of the last time I actually felt one with nature. Park visits, beach trips and even hikes have subtle reminders of urbanization. The article reminded me how much of a privilege it is to truly immerse yourself in nature and allow your thoughts to run freely. 

Moby-Dick means different things to me different levels. On the surface, it’s a grand sea adventure filled with danger, obsession, and mystery, but more deeply, it feels like a mirror of human struggle- how we often chase things bigger than ourselves, even when it risks our downfall. Captain Ahab’s obsession with the whale shows how destructive it can be when danger and vengeance consume a person, while Ishmael’s reflective voice remains me of the value of humility, learning, and survival. For me, Moby-Dick represents the constant push and pull between ambition and acceptance, reminding me to respect both nature and my own limits.

Emerson describes the ideal scholar as “Man Thinking,” books, and life rather than passively absorbing ideas. He argues that true intellectual though, not blind imitation. For Emerson, the scholar must be creative, original, and deeply connected to experience, serving as a vital force in shaping society. This vision emphasizes self -reliance and the power of the individual mind.

Hi everyone! My name is Aurora Copp, and I am super excited to be taking this class. I have never taken a class where we only focus on one book, so I am really enthusiastic about learning as much as I can and really diving deeply into it. I am an English Single Subject Major, and I start the teaching credential program here at SDSU in the spring. I am really excited as well to get to know each of you in class! Thank you.

This week’s reading of The American Scholar by Ralph Waldo Emerson was particularly insightful. Emerson’s take of the first impression on the mind, nature, is reminiscent of the romantic era in literature. Emerson believes it is a necessity to open the mind’s-eye to nature: “What is nature to him? There is never a beginning, there is never an end, to the inexplicable this web of God, but always circular power returning into itself. Therein it resembles his own spirit, whose beginning, whose ending, he never can find,— so entire, so boundless” (Emerson). Emerson’s describes this interconnectedness as a circle, it’s significance being that nature and knowledge are inexhaustible. A core characteristic of romanticism is the fixation on nature as a healing power. Similarly, Emerson treats nature as a moral guide; natural beauty is accompanied by moments of reflection and truth.

Emerson’s continues in this excerpt with vivid imagery: “ “Far, too, as her splendors shine, system on system shooting like rays, upward, downward, without centre, without circumference,— in the mass and in the particle, nature hastens to render account of herself to the mind.” Like neurons firing in the brain, nature is constantly having a dialogue with itself. Pieces of information transcends time and space and we are but at it’s mercy. Later on he says, “So much of nature as he is ignorant of, so much of his own mind does he not yet possess.” In other words, the invitation of nature as a source of knowledge can bring forth self-discovery. From a more contemporary standpoint this can also encourage us to reach beyond our own borders. Cultures around the world are subjects of their landscapes, understanding it’s citizens can help us create a more unified version of society and ourselves.