A Wonder, a Grandeur, and a Woe: Melville and Human Progress

Kick off this year’s Moby-Dick Marathon with a lively virtual presentation by Steven Olsen-Smith, current Professor at Boise State University and General Editor of Melville’s Marginalia Online. The talk will look closely at Melville’s body of work to trace his conception of our prospects for edification and advancement. Steven will explore how admirers of Herman Melville might ponder anew Melville’s conception of humanity’s capacity for individual, social, and evolutionary growth.

Steven Olsen-Smith is a past president of the Melville Society, and he has held visiting appointments as the Holland H. Coors Endowed Chair at the United States Air Force Academy. Olsen-Smith’s research explores the influence of Melville’s reading and sources on Moby-Dick and other writings.