Monthly Archives: October 2021

Monsieur Chouchani

Posted on October 20, 2021 by zjb

Lots of excitement is instantly surrounding recent news about the trove of notebooks by Monsieur Chouchani. The legendary Monsieur Chouchani was the teacher of Elie Wiesel and Emmanuel Levinas. Born in Russia “around the turn of the twentieth century,” he … Continue reading →

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Magic Onion (E.B. Tylor)

Posted on October 8, 2021 by zjb

h/t Samuel Spinner On old thing in mint museum-comdition here at Pitt Rivers Museum Onion stuck with pins and a metal coil, used in sympathetic magic [SM 07/01/2008] Place details: EUROPE. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland / England … Continue reading →

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(Animism) Primitive Jewish Culture (E.B. Tylor)

Posted on October 7, 2021 by zjb

Jewish culture and Judaism spot E.B. Tylor’s monumental Primitive Culture. There is no special theory of Jewish culture or Judaism in Primitive Culture. Judaism is nothing special, just one more dataset in the ethnographic record. Primitive Judaism is folklore Primitive … Continue reading →

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Online Anti-Semitism & Jewish Life in Europe During Covid

Posted on October 6, 2021 by zjb

Posting here the EU Report on anti-Semitism online after Covid. In addition to its status as a record, it highlights the conjunction between online platforms, the expression and organization of hate, and pandemic-culture in the digital West. Related is here: … Continue reading →

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Animism, Affect, Spiritual Beings (E.B. Tylor)

Posted on October 4, 2021 by zjb

In late mid-career, I finally got around to E.B. Tylor’s Primitive Culture and more of these musty nineteenth century contributions to the science of Religion. I am now including in my graduate seminar on Theories and Methods Max Müller’s Lectures … Continue reading →

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