Outside Influences and Borrowings
Aug 2, 2008 11:02:33 GMT -5
Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Aug 2, 2008 11:02:33 GMT -5
Thread Orientation: On this thread we can try and discuss cases where Assyriologists and Sumerologists have been possibly influenced by work, findings, or strategies from other fields and have applied this influence to their own views on Mesopotamia.
This topic has to do with those cases where an Assyriologists idea's may seem to be clearly influenced from learning or reading into other fields or subjects, and where this reading in turn influences the Assyriologist and cause's them to reproduce something like the same idea in the Mesopotamian context. Perhaps such a proceeding could be termed an "interdisciplinary approach" and the validity would probably need to be determined on a case to case basis. I find this subject interesting because Assyriology is usually characterized as an inward looking self-substantiating field, resistant to cross-cultural analysis and borrowings may as a result be seen as more or less invalidating.
I have only a few examples at moment all of which I am not able to detail precisely, and which are somewhat unconfirmed but if correct show that an Assyriologist might utilize outside influences in forming a model of Mesopotamian thought and culture.
Jacobsen and German Romanticism
In reading Anne's dissertation on Gudea and the Gudea Cylinders, I notice on page 16 a wonderful comment in regards Jacobsen:
"..a major part of chapter 3 below studies the nature of the divine and divine symbols on a [theoretical level], on basis of Jacobsen's view in Treasures of Darkness which seem to largely agrees with the tautagoria of Schelling and the German romanticism. According to this view, the symbol and its object are seen as basically one, and thus, arguably, it excludes the bearing of any notion of metaphysical transcendence."
This and a similar comment above, suggest that Jacobsen was influenced by the idea's of German Romanticism in regards the relation between symbol and object, and that he formed his idea of the Sumerian view around similar lines. To further establish this suggestion would require a small study of German Romanticism and a side by side with Jacobsen's book.
Binsbergen and Wiggerman and Marxist theory?
In her review of Binsbergen and Wiggermanns 1999 theoretical model of the history of magic, J. Scurlock see's B&W's view as definitely colored by Marxist borrowings and ideas. She believes that the presence of a "great deal of characteristic jargon" strongly suggests that the categories of control proposed by B&W were "ultimately derived from Marxist theory." Regarding the B/W portrayal of the early Holistic tradition which existed before civilization, which was headed by Enki and the ME (laws of tradition) , and of the Hegemonic rule which developed around Enlil....... Scurlock comments: "That primitive communism [Hegemony] should exist as a very preliminary sort of state of nature engaged in by illiterate tribal societies [holism[ is standard Marxist theory." As B/W characterize hegemonic rule as "violently exploitive", Scurlock observes Marxist theory colors government as "parasitic." etc. etc.
For a summation of the B&W paper, and Scurlocks critical comments at the bottom, we can refer to the Theoretical Understandings"]http://enenuru.proboards52.com/index.cgi?board=recite&action=display&thread=69]Theoretical Understandings thread.
In addition I have been considering some idea's of Stephen Maul's in regards the Mesopotamian idea of time (see this article ; that the past was something viewable and so in front, while the future is inscrutable and so is behind: this does seem similar to a poem someone pointed out to me called "Angelus Novus" , although, have yet found nothing to suggest Maul had considered this poem which forming his ideas... *g*
Borrowings
This topic has to do with those cases where an Assyriologists idea's may seem to be clearly influenced from learning or reading into other fields or subjects, and where this reading in turn influences the Assyriologist and cause's them to reproduce something like the same idea in the Mesopotamian context. Perhaps such a proceeding could be termed an "interdisciplinary approach" and the validity would probably need to be determined on a case to case basis. I find this subject interesting because Assyriology is usually characterized as an inward looking self-substantiating field, resistant to cross-cultural analysis and borrowings may as a result be seen as more or less invalidating.
I have only a few examples at moment all of which I am not able to detail precisely, and which are somewhat unconfirmed but if correct show that an Assyriologist might utilize outside influences in forming a model of Mesopotamian thought and culture.
Jacobsen and German Romanticism
In reading Anne's dissertation on Gudea and the Gudea Cylinders, I notice on page 16 a wonderful comment in regards Jacobsen:
"..a major part of chapter 3 below studies the nature of the divine and divine symbols on a [theoretical level], on basis of Jacobsen's view in Treasures of Darkness which seem to largely agrees with the tautagoria of Schelling and the German romanticism. According to this view, the symbol and its object are seen as basically one, and thus, arguably, it excludes the bearing of any notion of metaphysical transcendence."
This and a similar comment above, suggest that Jacobsen was influenced by the idea's of German Romanticism in regards the relation between symbol and object, and that he formed his idea of the Sumerian view around similar lines. To further establish this suggestion would require a small study of German Romanticism and a side by side with Jacobsen's book.
Binsbergen and Wiggerman and Marxist theory?
In her review of Binsbergen and Wiggermanns 1999 theoretical model of the history of magic, J. Scurlock see's B&W's view as definitely colored by Marxist borrowings and ideas. She believes that the presence of a "great deal of characteristic jargon" strongly suggests that the categories of control proposed by B&W were "ultimately derived from Marxist theory." Regarding the B/W portrayal of the early Holistic tradition which existed before civilization, which was headed by Enki and the ME (laws of tradition) , and of the Hegemonic rule which developed around Enlil....... Scurlock comments: "That primitive communism [Hegemony] should exist as a very preliminary sort of state of nature engaged in by illiterate tribal societies [holism[ is standard Marxist theory." As B/W characterize hegemonic rule as "violently exploitive", Scurlock observes Marxist theory colors government as "parasitic." etc. etc.
For a summation of the B&W paper, and Scurlocks critical comments at the bottom, we can refer to the Theoretical Understandings"]http://enenuru.proboards52.com/index.cgi?board=recite&action=display&thread=69]Theoretical Understandings thread.
In addition I have been considering some idea's of Stephen Maul's in regards the Mesopotamian idea of time (see this article ; that the past was something viewable and so in front, while the future is inscrutable and so is behind: this does seem similar to a poem someone pointed out to me called "Angelus Novus" , although, have yet found nothing to suggest Maul had considered this poem which forming his ideas... *g*