American Literature / Unit 7 AML 0609 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Divinity School Address and the Scandal
Captions available
The idea
Emerson's address to the Harvard Divinity School told the graduating ministers that historical Christianity had made a mistake about Jesus, and that each person must find the divine directly. The scandal kept him from speaking at Harvard for decades, and it marks the movement's break with the churches.
In practice
A church school, told to stop mediating.
Where people slip
The break with institutions became formal here.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
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