Click here to go to a recording of our 2014 lecture: Ruskin and the Point of Failure.

2014 - Ruskin and the Point of Failure

The Mikimoto Memorial Ruskin Lecture of 2014 was held on 20 November in Lancaster University's Frankland Lecture Theatre.

Speaker: Professor Dinah Birch (University of Liverpool)

Title: 'Ruskin and the Point of Failure'

What does it mean to succeed? For John Ruskin, an acceptance of the necessity of failure and imperfection was essential to the fulfilment of human potential. In this lecture, Professor Dinah Birch explores the roots of this conviction, placing Ruskin's ideas in the wider context of 19th century religious and cultural history, and arguing that his hostility towards ideals of perfection was among the most influential and stimulating features of his thought.

2014 - Ruskin and the Point of Failure