scholarly journals The Brahmin, the Aryan, and the Powers of the Priestly Class: Puzzles in the Study of Indian Religion

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 181
Author(s):  
Marianne Keppens ◽  
Jakob De Roover
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Magical Thinking ◽  
Indian Culture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Priestly Class ◽  
Classical Account ◽  
Indian Religion

The classical account of the Brahmin priestly class and its role in Indian religion has seen remarkable continuity during the past two centuries. Its core claims appear to remain unaffected, despite the major shifts that occurred in the theorizing of Indian culture and in the study of religion. In this article, we first examine the issue of the power and status of the Brahmin and show how it generates explanatory puzzles today. We then turn to 18th- and 19th-century sources to identify the cognitive conditions which sustained the classical account of the Brahmin priest and allowed for its transmission. Three clusters of concepts were crucial here: Christian-theological ideas concerning heathen priesthood and idolatry; racial notions of biological and cultural superiority and inferiority; and anthropological speculations about ‘primitive man’ and his ‘magical thinking’. While all three clusters were rejected by 20th- and 21st-century scholarship, the related claims about Brahmanical ritual power continue to be presented as facts. What accounts for this peculiar combination of continuities and discontinuities in the study of (ancient) Indian religion? We turn to some insights from the philosophy of science to sketch a route toward answering this question.

Remembering the Past in Nineteenth-Century Scotland

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
National Identity ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Collective Memories ◽  
The Past ◽  
Prevailing View ◽  
The Way

At a time when the Union between Scotland and England is once again under the spotlight, Remembering the Past in Nineteenth-Century Scotland examines the way in which Scotland’s national heroes were once remembered as champions of both Scottish and British patriotism. Whereas 19th-century Scotland is popularly depicted as a mire of sentimental Jacobitism and kow-towing unionism, this book shows how Scotland’s national heroes were once the embodiment of a consistent, expressive and robust view of Scottish nationality. Whether celebrating the legacy of William Wallace and Robert Bruce, the reformer John Knox, the Covenanters, 19th-century Scots rooted their national heroes in a Presbyterian and unionist view of Scotland’s past. Examined through the prism of commemoration, this book uncovers collective memories of Scotland’s past entirely opposed to 21st-century assumptions of medieval proto-nationalism and Calvinist misery. Detailed studies of 19th-century commemoration of Scotland’s national heroes Uncovers an all but forgotten interpretation of these ‘great Scots’ Shines a new light on the mindset of nineteenth-century Scottish national identity as being comfortably Scottish and British Overturns the prevailing view of Victorian Scottishness as parochial, sentimental tartanry

scholarly journals Brexit, Trump and trade: Back to a late 19th century future?

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 338-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M Dent
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Global Order ◽  
Late 19Th Century ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Comparative Historical Analysis ◽  
Political Economies ◽  
Distributional Impacts

There are striking similarities between today’s early 21st century trade political economy and its late 19th century equivalent. Ascendant populist nationalism, escalating trade protectionism and tariff wars, growing discontent over globalization’s distributional impacts and fast emerging economic superpowers disrupting the global order are features shared by both periods. This comparative historical analysis explores what lessons and conclusions we may draw from the past late 19th century world that can be applied to today. Integral to this discussion are the prospects of our early 21st century world experiencing a similar endgame of global conflict, as transpired around a century ago. In revisiting the past to better understand the present and future, this paper first evaluates empirical similarities between the trade political economies of both periods. It then applies theories and concepts of economic nationalism, globalization and interdependence in developing deeper conclusions and arguments. Brexit, Trump and their historic parallels serve as primary focal points in this study.

scholarly journals Michel Houellebecq’s Submission – a novel of decadence

Literatūra ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 94-100
Author(s):  
Vytautas Bikulčius
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
21St Century ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The Past ◽  
Black Madonna ◽  
Conversion To Islam ◽  
The World ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Aesthetic Values

Michel Houellebecq’s Submission has been analysed as a novel of decadence in this paper. Referring to the works of Michel Winock, François Livi and Michel Onfray, it has been found that a decadent novel can be associated not only with the works of Joris-Karl Huysmans, Pierre Loűys, Jean Lorrain and others produced at the end of the 19th century but also at subsequent periods. Such characteristics of decadent writing as the threat of catastrophe, fundamental changes in society, nostalgia can be found in the analysed novel.François, the main character of the novel, an expert on Huysmans and a professor at Sorbonne University, supports Huysmans’ ideas to some extent trying to find the link between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 21st century by comparing processes in society. Huysmans sought an ideal in the Middle Ages, while François travels to Rocamadour, famous for the statue of the Black Madonna, with a hope to find a spiritual revelation but becomes aware that the world of the past has gone forever. Changes in society made Huysmans leave the monastery, similarly, François gets frustrated as he loses his job when the Muslim Fraternity comes into power.Using the dystopian genre, Houellebecq depicts unbelievable changes in society – the new government proclaims Islam an official religion of France. Society is governed by new rules, the authority is concerned about two things – demography and education. Those, who refuse to convert to Islam, lose their jobs. Changes in society are even linked with geopolitical changes. Meanwhile Houellebecq reveals significant differences between the decadence of the end of the 19th and of the 21st century. Huysmans’ decadence results in neuroses, a desire to seal himself off from the world in alcohol, drugs, etc., to surround himself with works of art, while François in Submission enjoys erotic pleasures, gradually becomes an alcoholic, he does not suffer like Huysmans’ protagonist Des Esseintes. It can be stated that Submission is a decadent novel only at thematic level since aesthetic values, characteristic of the decadence of the 19th century, are left in the background. The only justification of François is that he speaks about his conversion to Islam hypothetically, it shows that he has not made up his mind to take this step.

scholarly journals Is Religion Coming Back as a Source for Antisemitic Views?

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Gunther Jikeli
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Political Order ◽  
Jewish State ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Religious Reasons ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Role Of Religion

The most violent American and European antisemites in the 21st century, including not only Jihadists but also white (and black) supremacist terrorist, made some reference to religion in their hatred of Jews. This is surprising. Religious antisemitism is often seen as a relic of the past. It is more associated with pre-modern societies where the role of religion was central to the social and political order. However, at the end of the 19th century, animosity against Judaism gave way to nationalistic and racist motives. People such as Wilhelm Marr called themselves antisemites to distinguish themselves from those who despised Jews for religious reasons. Since then, antisemitism has gone through many mutations. However, today, it is not only the actions of extremely violent antisemites who might be an indication that religious antisemitism has come back in new forms. Some churches have been accused of disseminating antisemitic arguments related to ideas of replacement theology in modernized forms and applied to the Jewish State. Others, from the populist nationalist right, seem to use Christianity as an identity marker and thus exclude Jews (and Muslims) from the nation. Do religious motifs play a significant role in the resurgence of antisemitism in the 21st century?

scholarly journals Literacka historia ołowiu. Rekonesans

2021 ◽  
pp. 109-146
Author(s):  
Marta Tomczok
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Press ◽  
The 19Th Century

This article offers an overview and preliminary arrangements of literary texts, chosen paintings and films (most of them from the past three centuries) which feature the motif of lead. The presence of lead as a symbol has been detected in poetry which treated the problem of war and peace; occasionally this use of lead has occurred in relation to printing, typesetting, and – less frequently – children’s toys. Much more often the motif of lead has been used in literary works to introduce the topic of melancholia and to express artists’ interest in alchemy. An analysis of literary prose at the turn of the 20th century related to zinc and lead metallurgy shows that lead did not occur in the context of mining, chemistry, and medicine until the 19th century. On the basis of studies of the press, historical literature, and contemporary reportage, the article shows the toxic nature of lead and its harmful effect on people and the environment, about which artists and authors try to warn the public at the turn of the 21st century. The article shows that the parallel between melancholia and saturnism is a well-documented phenomenon.

scholarly journals Od ideologije do subverzije: promišljanje jugoslavenstva u Hrvatskoj u 21. stoljeću

2021 ◽  
pp. 65-76
Author(s):  
Petr Stehlík
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Cultural Model ◽  
The Past ◽  
A Value ◽  
Privileged Status ◽  
The 19Th Century

After the breakup of Yugoslavia and the “abduction” of Yugoslav name by the regime of Slobodan Milošević, it seemed that Yugoslavism is a concept solely belonging to the past. Yugoslavism lost its national-integrational role it used to have in the 19th century, as well as its privileged status of the state ideology, which it used to enjoy in both incarnations of Yugoslavia. However, at the dawn of 21st century several Croatian intellectuals – with historian and publicist Dragan Markovina at the forefront – strive to reconceive Yugoslavism. The aim of the paper is to present and contextualize their deliberations on Yugoslavism as a subversive strategy and a value alternative to the dominant cultural model in Croatia and the other countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Real or Imagined Confusion in Ethnohistorical Research? A Rejoinder to Thurman

1988 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 317-326
Author(s):  
Charles E. Orser
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Missouri River ◽  
Early 19Th Century ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
The Past ◽  
Alternative Perspective ◽  
Narrow View

Recently, Melburn D. Thurman has argued that my handling of the James Mackay manuscript, an early 19th-century account of Plains native groups, is unsound. Many of Thurman's criticisms, specifically those concerning the date of the document, the details of Mackay's experience on the Missouri River, and the intent of my original article, stem from misrepresentation and misunderstanding. Thurman has refused, for example, to accept that my essay was a test of the document using archaeological data associated with the Arikara. In addition, Thurman portrays a narrow view of the past and a rather unique understanding of ethnohistorical methods. In this response to Thurman, I restate many of the points in my original article and provide an alternative perspective for studying the past.

Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion Volume 9

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Philosophy Of Language ◽  
Philosophy Of Religion ◽  
Half Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
Inclusive Approach ◽  
Past Half

This is the ninth volume of Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion. As with earlier volumes, these essays follow the tradition of providing a non-sectarian and non-partisan snapshot of the subdiscipline of philosophy of religion. This subdiscipline has become an increasingly important one within philosophy over the last century, and especially over the past half century, having emerged as an identifiable subfield with this timeframe along with other emerging subfields such as the philosophy of science and the philosophy of language. This volume continues the initial intention behind the series of attracting the best work from the premier philosophers of religion, as well as including work by top philosophers outside this area when their work and interests intersect with issues in the philosophy of religion. This inclusive approach to the series provides an opportunity to mitigate some of the costs of greater specialization in our discipline, while at the same time inviting wider interest in the work being done in the philosophy of religion.

scholarly journals Criminology: Some lines of flight

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-33
Author(s):  
Julie Berg ◽  
Clifford Shearing
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Smart Phones ◽  
40Th Anniversary ◽  
The Past ◽  
Domain Of Existence ◽  
James Lovelock ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Space Of Flows

The 40th Anniversary Edition of Taylor, Walton and Young’s New Criminology, published in 2013, opened with these words: ‘The New Criminology was written at a particular time and place, it was a product of 1968 and its aftermath; a world turned upside down’. We are at a similar moment today. Several developments have been, and are turning, our 21st century world upside down. Among the most profound has been the emergence of a new earth, that the ‘Anthropocene’ references, and ‘cyberspace’, a term first used in the 1960s, which James Lovelock has recently termed a ‘Novacene’, a world that includes both human and artificial intelligences. We live today on an earth that is proving to be very different to the Holocene earth, our home for the past 12,000 years. To appreciate the Novacene one need only think of our ‘smart’ phones. This world constitutes a novel domain of existence that Castells has conceived of as a terrain of ‘material arrangements that allow for simultaneity of social practices without territorial contiguity’ – a world of sprawling material infrastructures, that has enabled a ‘space of flows’, through which massive amounts of information travel. Like the Anthropocene, the Novacene has brought with it novel ‘harmscapes’, for example, attacks on energy systems. In this paper, we consider how criminology has responded to these harmscapes brought on by these new worlds. We identify ‘lines of flight’ that are emerging, as these challenges are being met by criminological thinkers who are developing the conceptual trajectories that are shaping 21st century criminologies.

If things go South: The renewed policy of sport mega events allocation and its implications for future research

2021 ◽  
pp. 101269022098134
Author(s):  
Billy Graeff ◽  
Jorge Knijnik
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Public Expenditure ◽  
Global South ◽  
International Olympic Committee ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Mega Events ◽  
The Past ◽  
Global North ◽  
Analytical Tools

The past few decades have seen an increase of sport mega events (SMEs) held outside the Global North. This tendency has been accompanied by a growing public expenditure in these events. This paper employs selected Global South SMEs to discuss this trend. By critically analysing public documents, biddings and reports, the study traces comparisons between 21st-century Global South and Global North SMEs expenditures, in the revenue of franchise owners (FIFA and the International Olympic Committee), in construction costs within the budgets and in the costs related to security. This comprehensive and intertwined investigation shows the need for new analytical tools – such as the Renewed Policy of Sport Mega Events Allocation, a concept developed here - to better capture the central questions posed by the challenges of ‘SMEs going South’.

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