Manuscript, Unto This Last, John Ruskin 1860
Three sessions exploring Ruskin's Unto This Last:
Thursday, November 4th, 5pm PDT.
Thursday, November 11th, 5pm PST.
Wednesday, November 17th, 5pm PST.
In 1860, without warning, the famous critic, John Ruskin, abruptly gave up writing on nature, art, and architecture and made a serious foray into social criticism. His brief text, entitled Unto This Last, which he always considered the most important he ever wrote, created such a stir in the intellectual and economic circles of his time that he was censored and his original seven essays on the topic were limited to four. This series of talks will take those participating through all four published essays, using Ruskin‘s text as our springboard, as a way to demonstrate the continuing relevance of Ruskin’s ideas to our own troubled times. All sessions are planned as interactive.
Jim Spates is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. He is the Co-Founder (with Sara Atwood), in 2020, of The Ruskin Society of North America, webmaster of the blog site, https://whyruskin.wordpress.com, a Companion of Ruskin’s Guild of St. George, a Member of the Roycroft Campus Community, and a Member of the Ruskin Art Club in Los Angeles.
For the last three decades, he has lectured regularly in both the UK and US, on various aspects of Ruskin’s life and work. He is the author of many published articles on Ruskin and of the book, The Imperfect Round: Helen Gill Viljoen’s ‘Life of Ruskin.’ Currently, he is writing Availing toward Life: The Radical Social Thought of John Ruskin, a book dedicated to making Ruskin’s masterpiece of social and economic criticism, Unto this Last, accessible to a new generation of readers.
Materials for Events
November 4th, 2021
Below, please find links to a pdf of Ruskin's Unto This Last (complete), with Clive Wilmer's excellent commentary and notes. Also: a pdf of the first essay, "The Roots of Honour," which will be the subject of the first presentation and discussion (11/4). Please read the first essay in preparation for the talk/discussion. Also, please find the paragraphs from "The Roots of Honour" that Prof. Spates will discuss on Nov. 4.
Links to the materials for study:
Ruskin's Unto This Last PDF
"The Roots of Honour" PDF
Paragraphs from "The Roots of Honour" for discussion PDF
November 11th, 2021
Below, please find a pdf of essays two and three of Unto this Last: "The Veins of Wealth" and "Qui Judicatis Terram." Please read the two essays in preparation for the talk/discussion on Nov. 11. Also find a pdf of paragraphs from the two essays that Prof. Spates will highlight.
Links to the materials for study:
"Veins of Wealth"/"Qui Judicatis Terram" PDF
Paragraphs from“The Veins of Wealth”/”Qui Judicatis Terram”
November 17th, 2021
Below, please find a pdf of the final essay of Unto this Last, "Ad Valorem." Please read the essay in preparation for the talk/discussion on Nov. 17. Also find a pdf of paragraphs from the essay that Prof. Spates will highlight.
Links to the materials for study: