Romanticism is often reduced to nostalgic pastoralism and solitary contemplation of the sublime. But a radical strand of Romantic writers and thinkers offered sweeping political, ecological, and religious critiques of capitalism, racism, settler colonialism, and environmental destruction. In this context, connections among literary and philosophical traditions reveal how storytelling is central to the pursuit of justice and flourishing for the human and the more-than-human worlds. Bringing together environmental humanities, literary theory, political theory, and religious studies may sustain an ongoing tradition of Romanticism and offer resources to think about contemporary environmental, social and political crises.

In this event, Mark Cladis and Jonathan Kahn will explore a renewed account of Romanticism for today’s deeply entrenched crises, interweaving canonical nineteenth-century authors with Black and Indigenous thinkers who transformed their work and offering urgent resources for a world beset by catastrophe, uncertainty, and despair.

Mark Cladis is a Professor of the Humanities at Brown University. His work often pertains to the intersection of modern Western religious, political, and environmental thought. His last book, Radical Romanticism: Democracy, Religion, and the Environmental Imagination, was published by Columbia University Press in September 2025.

Jonathon Kahn is Professor of Religion at Vassar College. His current work explores the formation of modern versions of secularism. His next book project is entitled, With This Faith: The New Secular and the Reconstruction of Democracy.