Is Eating Babies Really So Terrible? The Dark Genius of Jonathan Swift

UW Professor of English, Thomas Lockwood, explores the dark genius of Jonathan Swift, one of the greatest satirists in world literature. Regarded as an intensely controversial figure, a brilliant political combatant in British history, a national hero in Ireland, and arguably the greatest satirist in world literature, Swift's contemporaries loved him for his comic genius, ranking him with Rabelais and Cervantes. The Victorians of the next century thought he must have been mad. To those who lived through the nightmare of twentieth-century world warfare, Swift seemed not only sane but a prophet. Lockwood’s talk is part of the Katz Distinguished Lectures in the Humanities, a series named in memory of Solomon Katz, who served for 53 years at the UW in many capacities, including as Chair of the Department of History and Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. Organized by the Simpson Center for the Humanities, Katz Lectures honor the role of the humanities in liberal education. Thomas Lockwood, Professor of English, University of Washington 10/28/2014 The University of Washington is committed to ensuring digital accessibility in our services, programs, and activities. If you encounter accessibility barriers using videos found on this channel, please contact UW Video at uwvideo [at] uw [dot] edu.