Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 38 (2017) Winner
Laura Dassow Walls
ローラ・ダッソウ・ウォールズ
Rōra Dassow Wōruzu
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- Ketchikan, Alaska
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Ketchikan (birthplace) → Seattle (University of Washington) → Bloomington (Indiana University) → Easton (Lafayette College) → Columbia (University of South Carolina) → South Bend (University of Notre Dame)
Career
- Occupations
- Professor of English, Literary scholar, Biographer
- Active Years
- 1976-
- Affiliations
- Lafayette College (faculty), Indiana University (faculty), University of South Carolina (faculty), University of Notre Dame (William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of English)
- Influenced By
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Alexander von Humboldt
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Washington | — | English / Creative Writing | B.A. | — | United States |
| University of Washington | — | English | M.A. | — | United States |
| Indiana University | — | American Literature | Ph.D. | — | United States |
University of Washington
English / Creative Writing
Degree:
B.A.
Year of Graduation:
1976
Country:
United States
University of Washington
English
Degree:
M.A.
Year of Graduation:
1978
Country:
United States
Indiana University
American Literature
Degree:
Ph.D.
Year of Graduation:
1992
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Russell Research Award | — | — | University of South Carolina | 受賞 |
| 2010 | Merle Curti Award | The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Shaping of America | アメリカ知的史部門（最優秀書） | Organization of American Historians | 受賞 |
| 2010 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞（フェローシップ） |
| 2010 | Michelle Kendrick Memorial Book Award | — | 文学と科学に関する最優秀図書 | Society for Literature, Science and the Arts | 受賞 |
| 2011 | James Russell Lowell Prize (Modern Language Association) | The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Shaping of America | — | Modern Language Association | 受賞 |
| 2012 | Ralph Waldo Emerson Society Distinguished Achievement Award | — | — | Ralph Waldo Emerson Society | 受賞 |
Russell Research Award
2010
Organization:
University of South Carolina
Result:
受賞
Merle Curti Award
2010
Work:
The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Shaping of America
Category:
アメリカ知的史部門（最優秀書）
Organization:
Organization of American Historians
Result:
受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
2010
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞（フェローシップ）
Michelle Kendrick Memorial Book Award
2010
Category:
文学と科学に関する最優秀図書
Organization:
Society for Literature, Science and the Arts
Result:
受賞
James Russell Lowell Prize (Modern Language Association)
2011
Work:
The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Shaping of America
Organization:
Modern Language Association
Result:
受賞
Ralph Waldo Emerson Society Distinguished Achievement Award
2012
Organization:
Ralph Waldo Emerson Society
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Henry David Thoreau: A Life
2017 Biography / Literary scholarshipA comprehensive biography of Henry David Thoreau that reevaluates his life and thought in cultural and scientific contexts.
NatureTranscendentalismIntersections of science and literature
The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Shaping of America
2009 Cultural history / Literary scholarshipExamines Alexander von Humboldt's ideas and their reception in America, clarifying relationships between environmental thought, science, and literature.
Environmental thoughtHumboldt studiesHistory of science and literature
Emerson's Life in Science: The Culture of Truth
2003 Literary studies / Intellectual historyInvestigates Emerson's views on science and truth, rereading his thought within the history of science.
Emerson studiesScience and truthTranscendentalism
Seeing New Worlds: Henry David Thoreau and Nineteenth-Century Natural Science
1995 Scholarly work / Natural historyContrasts nineteenth-century natural science with Thoreau's writings to show how his view of nature related to contemporary scientific perspectives.
Natural historyThoreau studies19th-century science
Bibliography
- Henry David Thoreau: A Life
- The Passage to Cosmos: Alexander von Humboldt and the Shaping of America
- Emerson's Life in Science: The Culture of Truth
- Seeing New Worlds: Henry David Thoreau and Nineteenth-Century Natural Science
- The Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism (editor)
- More Day to Dawn: Thoreau's Walden for the Twenty-first Century (co-editor)
- Material Faith: Thoreau on Science (co-editor)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Scholarly analytical proseCombination of biographical narrative and cultural-historical interpretation
- Recurring Motifs
- Descriptions of nature and landscapeIntersection of science and literatureThemes of Transcendentalism
Legacy
A scholar who opened intersections between literature, science, and environmental thought through studies of Emerson, Thoreau, and Humboldt; her award-winning work has made significant contributions to contemporary American literary and intellectual studies.
Academic Societies
- Ralph Waldo Emerson Society
Trivia
- Born in Ketchikan, Alaska.
- Joined the University of Notre Dame faculty as the William P. and Hazel B. White Professor of English in fall 2011.