LibGuides: Neoclassical &amp; Enlightenment World Literature: Media

Authors & Their Works

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BBC Kant (45:22) World-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and contemporary philosopher Geoffrey Warnock discuss the philosophy of anti-empiricist Immanuel Kant, and his view that activities and powers within the mind are the key to knowledge, and that all knowledge is appearance. Knowledge, for Kant, is a complex affair, in which knowing is acquired not just through the senses, but through pure concepts of understanding indigenous to the mind. Countering Hume, Kant insists it is the mind, not the senses, which unifies and organizes sensory flow into meaningful definitions of things.
Candide: Invitation to World Literature (26:15) A satirical novel following the travails of Candide, a hopeless optimist whose faith in his tutor's mantra that his is "the best of all possible worlds" is tested beyond all limits. Voltaire's challenge to the aristocracy of his day proves refreshingly amusing and biting today. Original illustrations, songs, and comic book figures plumb the depths of this satire. Featured speakers include director Harold Ramis, actress Kristin Chenoweth, and cartoonist Chris Ware.
Jonathan Swift and Gulliver’s Travels (01:31:11) With politics, religion, invention and the monarchy numbering amongst his targets, Jonathan Swift created a masterpiece that is a scathing satire on human nature. Visiting strange nations such as Lilliput and Brobdingnag, the program presents a fascinating study of the man, his life and works and the enduring effect he still has today as one of the world's foremost giants of literature.
Molière and the Comédie-Française (16:44) Offering a brief history of the Comédie-Française, this video analyzes two scenes from Molière's plays, Le Misanthrope and Tartuffe.