Lecture on “Unmasking Conspiracy: Philip Graves and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion” by Fintan O’Toole
March 21 @ 4:30 pm
FreeFintan O’Toole notes that we live in an age of conspiracy theory and fake news, but emphasizes these are not new phenomena. He contends the most toxic forgery of all time is The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which falsely purports to be the record of secret meetings of Jewish leaders plotting to take over the world. It was used as the basis for the most violent antisemitic propaganda of the 20th century and continues to circulate today.
In 1921, the Irish journalist Philip Graves was the first writer to expose The Protocols as a fake and to show how it was manufactured. Graves, who came from a very distinguished literary family, used the techniques of literary criticism to analyze the text of The Protocols and published his findings in the London Times.
O’Toole points out that Graves is now largely forgotten, but in this lecture, in memory of the great scholar-poet Robert Fagles, O’Toole tells the story of how Graves revealed the truth. He argues that what Graves managed to do is not merely of historical importance. It resonates very strongly with contemporary dilemmas and shows that critical skills are not marginal—they are vital to the survival of democracy and decency.
The Fund for Irish Studies Series is co-chaired by Jane Cox and Robert Spoo, Princeton’s Leonard L. Milberg ’53 Professor in Irish Letters.
About Fintan O’Toole
Fintan O’Toole, one of Ireland’s leading public intellectuals, is a columnist for The Irish Times and advising editor of The New York Review of Books. He also writes for The New York Times, The New Yorker, Granta, The Guardian, The Observer, and other international publications. From 2012 to 2024, he was the Leonard L. Milberg ’53 Visiting Lecturer in Irish Letters at Princeton University. His books on theater include works on William Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and Thomas Murphy. O’Toole’s books on politics include the bestsellers We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland, which was named by The New York Times as one of the ten best books of 2022; Heroic Failure: Brexit and the Politics of Pain; and Ship of Fools. He has received the A.T. Cross Award for Supreme Contribution to Irish Journalism, the Millennium Social Inclusion Award, the Orwell Prize, the European Press Prize and the Robert Silvers Prize for Journalism. He has recently been appointed official biographer of Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney. In 2023, O’Toole was named an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2024, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
Tickets & Details
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Directions
Get directions to the James Stewart Film Theater, located on the first floor at 185 Nassau Street.
Accessibility
The James Stewart Film Theater is an accessible venue. Visit our Venues and Studios section for accessibility information at our various locations. Guests in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at 609-258-5262 or email LewisCenter@princeton.edu at least one week in advance of the event date.
