An American Political Philosopher: Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court in Context

October 9 @ 5:30 pm

Draper 349

Abstract: Mark Twain, author of such beloved works as Huck Finn, Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Innocents Abroad, and Roughing It, is one of America’s greatest men of letters. One of the most famous men in the world during his life, Twain is often remembered today for his incredible wit, his biting social commentary, and the charming morality tales penned for young men. But beneath this carefully crafted popular veneer lies an artist whose literary creations are suffused with political wisdom. While scholars have, in recent decades, endeavored to do justice to the depth of Twain’s thought, too few of them have appreciated his engagement with and his contributions to political philosophy. Reading Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee in light of his own experience with the texts and figures of political philosophy in the West will open up new vistas on both America’s democratic politics and an artist who has been well loved but not fully appreciated.

Bio: Bernard Joseph (B.J.) Dobski is a Professor of Political Science at Assumption University in Worcester, MA, where he teaches courses on political philosophy, international relations, and American foreign policy. He has been a Visiting Scholar at Heritage Institute and his scholarly work on Thucydides, Xenophon, Shakespeare, and Mark Twain appears in the Review of Politics, Interpretation, Journal of American Political Thought, Philosophy & Literature, POLIS, and Perspectives, as well as at Law & Liberty and The American Mind. He has recently completed a book-length commentary on Mark Twain’s Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc and is a Quarry Farm Fellow at the Center for Mark Twain Studies for 2023-24.