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Thesis Chapters by Erick Dodge

UT MA (Asian Studies) Course Paper (RS 383M), 2021

The Ontological Turn (TOT) is a movement that began in the 90s to start considering ontology more... more The Ontological Turn (TOT) is a movement that began in the 90s to start considering ontology more than epistemology. Its members share the core desire to understand and—as the often say—“take seriously" the Other. From what I have been able to gather there are essentially: two kinds of Others that TOT has addressed (the non-human and the non-western); two disciplines it has drawn from (Philosophy and Anthropology); and finally two forms of the movement's seriousness (what I will call "hard" and "soft", the first is a metaphysics the later a method). Often these things are mixed. For example, Holbraad's original Anthropological work in 2007 asked "hard" ontological questions about non-western and non-human objects. In 2017 Holbraad took a more "soft" position and also considered western Christians. Over the next few pages I will do my best to lay out a summary of: the movement, Holbraad's place in it, its predecessors in our readings (Phenomenology and William James), and finally its implications for the discipline.

In 1982, in an article titled “Waters of Memory, Waters of Forgetfulness”, the Indo-Europeanist B... more In 1982, in an article titled “Waters of Memory, Waters of Forgetfulness”, the Indo-Europeanist Bruce Lincoln reconstructed the following Proto-Indo-European (henceforth PIE) narrative from Platonic (Republic, 614B - 621D), Orphic (Gold Tablets), Indic (Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad 1.4), Nordic (Gylfaginning 4, 15; Grímnismál 28; Vǫluspá 28); and Celtic (Feis Tighe Chonáin) written sources. See Table I in Lincoln’s article for a summary.

"On the way to the otherworld, souls of the dead had to cross a river, the waters of which washed away all of their memories. These memories were not destroyed, however, but were carried by the river's water to a spring, where they bubbled up and were drunk by certain highly favored individuals, who became inspired and infused with supernatural wisdom as a result of the drink." (Lincoln, 1982: 30. <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249927289_Waters_of_Memory_Waters_of_Forgetfulness>https://www.academia.edu/32367336/Waters\_of\_Memory)

Lincoln briefly traced the development of this proto-narrative in the various Indo- European (henceforth IE) branches. See Table II “Transformations” in Lincoln’s article for a summary. While Lincoln’s article was foundational, it was also only a preliminary sketch. In light of this, we will build on his work and refine his reconstruction by gathering additional Graeco- Roman, Indo-Iranian, Germanic, Celtic, and Hittite sources. Additionally, once we have established the PIE background, we will follow this narratives’ development in the myths and cults of two IE figures: the Germanic Odin and Greek Orpheús. Lastly, we will consider possible Finno-Ugric and Laurasian connections. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to arrive at a greater understanding of the development of IE culture, from its primordial roots to its various local manifestations.

Drafts by Erick Dodge

The Indo-European Wiki, 2020

A wiki for Indo-European Studies. https://indo-european.wiki It specifically focuses on the cul... more A wiki for Indo-European Studies. <https://indo-european.wiki> It specifically focuses on the cultural aspect of the discipline (Dumézil, ritual, poetics, narrative, etc), because there are other websites that already focus on the linguistic and genetic aspects (for instance, https://indo-european.eu/ , UT's LRC, Academia Prisca, etc.)

Papers by Erick Dodge

UT MA Asian Studies Course (ANS 384), 2021

Why did Arab Muslims incorporate a future savior (Jesus-Mahdi) into their eschatology during thei... more Why did Arab Muslims incorporate a future savior (Jesus-Mahdi) into their eschatology during their conquest of the byzantine empire? Why did Nativist Zoroastrians incorporate the Islamic figure of Mahdi into their millennialism while revolting against the Umayyad Caliphate? Why did Sikhs incorporate the figure of Mahdi into their cyclical eschatology amid persecution by and war with the Mughal Empire? In short, why did these religious groups, amid conflict with a clearly defined religious opponent, incorporate the foretold future saviors of their enemies? Was it simply because of a common cultural background or intent? That is, simply because vague “influence”, or was it intentional?

In this essay I will argue that these are all instances of eschatological appropriation in which religious leaders and warriors utilized their enemies beliefs against them by redefining and inverting their meaning. Our focus will be limited by two factors: religious war and Islamic history.

First, I will be exclusively looking at instances of syncretic eschatology amid religious wars. Instances of syncretism amid conflict, eschatology amid conflict, and/or syncretic eschatology will not be considered. This is partly because we have limited room, but more importantly because those forms lack the unique irony of wartime eschatological appropriation: using the future savior of your enemy for your own ideological narrative. War also provides a new reason for syncretism: tactic, that is, the intentional and strategic deployment of a narrative (in this case, an inverted narrative).

Second, I will be exclusively looking at instances of this phenomenon from “Islamic” history. All our examples developed during wars that took place in the Middle East and North India from the seventh to the seventeenth century. More importantly than this, they all include a savior figure know as the Mahdi. As such this paper is a kind of selective biography of this figure starting with his “birth” amid the North-Arabian Muslim-Byzantine wars (1.0); his employment further east in Iran as the savior of Iranian rebels (2.0); and ending with his “death” in a little Sikh poem written in Northern India (3.0). I say “selective” because his story is much larger than what we can include here, but I hope that I can shed some new light on his interesting “life”.

After looking at our three examples—of eschatological appropriation of the savior figure Mahdi amid religious wars from Islamic history—we will compare them (4.0) and end with some concluding thoughts (5.0).

UT MA Course Paper (ANS 361), 2021

In this paper I aim to bring together the work of various scholars—especially Vries, Hammer, and ... more In this paper I aim to bring together the work of various scholars—especially Vries, Hammer, and Staal—concerning a Vedic and Indo-European (IE) tradition about birds, poetpriests, and religious chants. I will argue: (1) the Ṛgveda contains a motif-complex regarding birds, poet-priests, and hymns. (2) A parallel to one of the motifs [Mythic Motif α: “bird(s) sing(s) hymn(s), like (a) poet-priest(s)”] can be found in an Iranian text regarding the Karšift bird and his companions. (3) This commonality implies a shared Indo-Iranian heritage for this motif. (4) Another Ṛgvedic motif [Poetic Motif A: “the hymns of poet-priests sound like bird-song”] had a ritual correlate: priests singing with a high-pitched voice. (5) This same ritual vocalization style is found in the Germanic tradition of magical chants (galdr). (6) This implies a common Proto-Indo-European (PIE) inheritance for this ritual vocalization style.

UT MA (Asian Studies) Course Paper (RS 383M), 2021

The Ontological Turn (TOT) is a movement that began in the 90s to start considering ontology more... more The Ontological Turn (TOT) is a movement that began in the 90s to start considering ontology more than epistemology. Its members share the core desire to understand and—as the often say—“take seriously" the Other. From what I have been able to gather there are essentially: two kinds of Others that TOT has addressed (the non-human and the non-western); two disciplines it has drawn from (Philosophy and Anthropology); and finally two forms of the movement's seriousness (what I will call "hard" and "soft", the first is a metaphysics the later a method). Often these things are mixed. For example, Holbraad's original Anthropological work in 2007 asked "hard" ontological questions about non-western and non-human objects. In 2017 Holbraad took a more "soft" position and also considered western Christians. Over the next few pages I will do my best to lay out a summary of: the movement, Holbraad's place in it, its predecessors in our readings (Phenomenology and William James), and finally its implications for the discipline.

In 1982, in an article titled “Waters of Memory, Waters of Forgetfulness”, the Indo-Europeanist B... more In 1982, in an article titled “Waters of Memory, Waters of Forgetfulness”, the Indo-Europeanist Bruce Lincoln reconstructed the following Proto-Indo-European (henceforth PIE) narrative from Platonic (Republic, 614B - 621D), Orphic (Gold Tablets), Indic (Kauṣītaki Upaniṣad 1.4), Nordic (Gylfaginning 4, 15; Grímnismál 28; Vǫluspá 28); and Celtic (Feis Tighe Chonáin) written sources. See Table I in Lincoln’s article for a summary.

"On the way to the otherworld, souls of the dead had to cross a river, the waters of which washed away all of their memories. These memories were not destroyed, however, but were carried by the river's water to a spring, where they bubbled up and were drunk by certain highly favored individuals, who became inspired and infused with supernatural wisdom as a result of the drink." (Lincoln, 1982: 30. <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249927289_Waters_of_Memory_Waters_of_Forgetfulness>https://www.academia.edu/32367336/Waters\_of\_Memory)

Lincoln briefly traced the development of this proto-narrative in the various Indo- European (henceforth IE) branches. See Table II “Transformations” in Lincoln’s article for a summary. While Lincoln’s article was foundational, it was also only a preliminary sketch. In light of this, we will build on his work and refine his reconstruction by gathering additional Graeco- Roman, Indo-Iranian, Germanic, Celtic, and Hittite sources. Additionally, once we have established the PIE background, we will follow this narratives’ development in the myths and cults of two IE figures: the Germanic Odin and Greek Orpheús. Lastly, we will consider possible Finno-Ugric and Laurasian connections. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to arrive at a greater understanding of the development of IE culture, from its primordial roots to its various local manifestations.

The Indo-European Wiki, 2020

A wiki for Indo-European Studies. https://indo-european.wiki It specifically focuses on the cul... more A wiki for Indo-European Studies. <https://indo-european.wiki> It specifically focuses on the cultural aspect of the discipline (Dumézil, ritual, poetics, narrative, etc), because there are other websites that already focus on the linguistic and genetic aspects (for instance, https://indo-european.eu/ , UT's LRC, Academia Prisca, etc.)

UT MA Asian Studies Course (ANS 384), 2021

Why did Arab Muslims incorporate a future savior (Jesus-Mahdi) into their eschatology during thei... more Why did Arab Muslims incorporate a future savior (Jesus-Mahdi) into their eschatology during their conquest of the byzantine empire? Why did Nativist Zoroastrians incorporate the Islamic figure of Mahdi into their millennialism while revolting against the Umayyad Caliphate? Why did Sikhs incorporate the figure of Mahdi into their cyclical eschatology amid persecution by and war with the Mughal Empire? In short, why did these religious groups, amid conflict with a clearly defined religious opponent, incorporate the foretold future saviors of their enemies? Was it simply because of a common cultural background or intent? That is, simply because vague “influence”, or was it intentional?

In this essay I will argue that these are all instances of eschatological appropriation in which religious leaders and warriors utilized their enemies beliefs against them by redefining and inverting their meaning. Our focus will be limited by two factors: religious war and Islamic history.

First, I will be exclusively looking at instances of syncretic eschatology amid religious wars. Instances of syncretism amid conflict, eschatology amid conflict, and/or syncretic eschatology will not be considered. This is partly because we have limited room, but more importantly because those forms lack the unique irony of wartime eschatological appropriation: using the future savior of your enemy for your own ideological narrative. War also provides a new reason for syncretism: tactic, that is, the intentional and strategic deployment of a narrative (in this case, an inverted narrative).

Second, I will be exclusively looking at instances of this phenomenon from “Islamic” history. All our examples developed during wars that took place in the Middle East and North India from the seventh to the seventeenth century. More importantly than this, they all include a savior figure know as the Mahdi. As such this paper is a kind of selective biography of this figure starting with his “birth” amid the North-Arabian Muslim-Byzantine wars (1.0); his employment further east in Iran as the savior of Iranian rebels (2.0); and ending with his “death” in a little Sikh poem written in Northern India (3.0). I say “selective” because his story is much larger than what we can include here, but I hope that I can shed some new light on his interesting “life”.

After looking at our three examples—of eschatological appropriation of the savior figure Mahdi amid religious wars from Islamic history—we will compare them (4.0) and end with some concluding thoughts (5.0).

UT MA Course Paper (ANS 361), 2021

In this paper I aim to bring together the work of various scholars—especially Vries, Hammer, and ... more In this paper I aim to bring together the work of various scholars—especially Vries, Hammer, and Staal—concerning a Vedic and Indo-European (IE) tradition about birds, poetpriests, and religious chants. I will argue: (1) the Ṛgveda contains a motif-complex regarding birds, poet-priests, and hymns. (2) A parallel to one of the motifs [Mythic Motif α: “bird(s) sing(s) hymn(s), like (a) poet-priest(s)”] can be found in an Iranian text regarding the Karšift bird and his companions. (3) This commonality implies a shared Indo-Iranian heritage for this motif. (4) Another Ṛgvedic motif [Poetic Motif A: “the hymns of poet-priests sound like bird-song”] had a ritual correlate: priests singing with a high-pitched voice. (5) This same ritual vocalization style is found in the Germanic tradition of magical chants (galdr). (6) This implies a common Proto-Indo-European (PIE) inheritance for this ritual vocalization style.