Feder, HelenaMcMillan, Bryan Todd2015-06-042015-06-042015http://hdl.handle.net/10342/4907This thesis is a critical intervention in contemporary Thoreau scholarship. It argues against Ashton Nichols's application of his concept of "urbanature" to the writings and philosophy of Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau's concept of "wildness" is not compatible with "urbanature;" indeed, "wildness offers solutions to ecological problems that "urbanature" fails to provide. It critiques the ideologies that undergirded industrial capitalism and other exploitive systems. Given that these systems cause or contribute to pressing ecological problems, as well as social, this thesis calls for a return to Thoreau's transformative understanding of "wildness" to address them.  55 p.dissertations, academicEnvironmental studiesLiteratureEcologyIndustrial capitalismUrbanatureUrban natureWildernessWildnessThoreau and urbanatureThoreau, Henry David, 1817-1862--Criticism and interpretationNichols, Ashton, 1953- --Criticism and interpretationNichols, Ashton, 1953- . Thoreau and urbanatureCapitalism in literatureMaster's Thesis