REL 205 REL 212 Perpetua's Journey: Faith, Gender, and Power in the Roman Empire

Early Christianity

PHI 205 PHI 101 Enthymeme Obama

Most Senators, typically, didn't so much ask questions as make statements.  Obama did both at the same time as he executed an enthymeme -- a categorical syllogism with an unstated premise. No one seemed to notice at the time that it was also an invalid syllogism. 

Here's how Obama's Enthymeme played out.

Major Premise: The stability of two key factors -- Iranian influence on Iraq and the threat from al Qaeda in Iraq -- will determine when U.S. combat troops can be withdrawn from Iraq.

Minor Premise:  Both factors are now stabilized. (Part of this unstated premise was implied when Crocker characterized the cheek-kissing reception given Iranian President Ahmadinejad by President Maliki in Iraq as "normal relations."  And, the premise was completed when Gen. David Petraeus told Sen. Boxer that al Qaeda operatives in Iraq now number about 2,000.)  

Obama's Conclusion: The achieved stability of those key factors means that U.S. combat troop levels in Iraq can now be dramatically decreased.

Let's break it down and highlight some of the moves in Obama's Enthymeme. He began by setting the first half of his Major Premise.

"I want to just start off with a couple of quick questions [he disarms by minimizing importance] because, in the parade of horribles that I think both of you have outlined should we leave too quickly, at the center is al Qaeda in Iraq and Iran.  So I just [more disarming] want to focus on those two things for a moment."

Because Petraeus and Crocker were there to testify and, most definitely, not to debate, Obama's "at the center" assertion went unchallenged.  Petraeus and Crocker sat mute. 

An exchange between Obama and Petraeus ended with their agreement that, according to Obama,

"Our goal is not to hunt down and eliminate every single trace, but rather to create a manageable situation where they're [al Qaeda] not posing a threat to Iraq or using it as a base to launch attacks outside of Iraq."   

Then the conversation seemed to meander off into a tangential discussion of the integration of Sunni Arabs "into Iraqi security forces or other government positions" (Petraeus).  But Obama may have intended it to establish another indicator of emerging stability -- this one relevant to Iraqi fighting capabilities. At the time, though, where Obama was headed was unclear.

Obama turned to Crocker to establish a case for stability in the Iran-Iraq relationship asking Crocker, 

"Just as it's fair to say that we're not going to completely eliminate all traces of al Qaeda in Iraq, but we want to create a manageable situation, it's also true to say that we're not going to eliminate all influence of Iran in Iraq, correct?"   

Crocker pointed out the destabilizing influence caused by an "Iranian strategy of backing extremist militia groups and sending in weapons and munitions that are used against Iraqis and against our own forces."  That led to a brief exchange as to whether the Iraqi government is aware of Iran's involvement. Then Obama asked,

"If, in fact, it is known...that Iran's government has assisted in arming special groups that are doing harm to Iraqi security forces and undermining the Iraqi government, why is it that they're being welcomed the way they were?" [So we're back to Middle Eastern politicians cheek-kissing that Senator Boxer brought up.  Was this part of the trap coordinated between the two senators?]

In his response, Crocker used the wrong words.

"In terms of the Ahmadinejad visit, you know, Iran and Iraq are neighbors.  A visit like that should be in the category of a normal relationship." 

"Normal relationship?"  Oops.  Those words, along with Petraeus' estimation of al Qaeda in Iraq at 2,000, completed the unstated Minor Premise of Obama's Enthymeme: The key factors determining U.S. combat troop withdrawal are normal and manageable.

After yet again reminding us that he opposed the Iraq War from the beginning, Obama aimed to drive his syllogism home with this convoluted, rhetorical [by Obama's own admission] question to Crocker.

"And so my final -- and I'll even pose this as a question and I won't -- you don't necessarily have to answer it -- maybe it's a rhetorical question -- if we were able to have the status quo [i.e. stability ref. the two determining factors in the Major Premise of his syllogism] right now without U.S. troops, would that be a sufficient definition of success?"   

This was the denouement to his line of questioning -- one that impressed some commentators, like Fred Barnes speaking on FOX News.

Looking somewhat confused and perhaps realizing that he'd stepped into a trap, Crocker nevertheless gave a reasonable answer.

"Senator, I can't imagine the current status quo being sustainable with that kind of precipitous drawdown."

Immediately, Biden came to Obama's defense interrupting with,

"That wasn't the question."

Obama quickly piled-on with,

"No, no, that wasn't the question."

But that was the question!  Crocker gave the best answer to an invalid syllogism that concluded with a hypothetical assertion: "...if we were able to have the status quo right now without U.S. troops."  Essentially, Crocker answered: Your question is based on what I take to be an invalid assertion, namely that the status quo today would continue in the absence of U.S. combat troops. 

Unfortunately for Crocker, he had no articulate defenders on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and he seemed confused by the question.  Looking tired after a full day of testifying before two Senate committees and three presidential candidates, he summarized, "This is hard and this is complicated."  Understandable, but not explanatory.  

With a full night's sleep, what could Crocker have said? Perhaps this:

"Senator, first of all, today's status quo is not acceptable for the long term, but we are making measurable progress toward one that will be.  It's like this, sir. Most of us have, at some time in our lives, been prescribed an antibiotic by a physician to fight off bacteria. The doctor always reminds us that, even when we start feeling better after a couple of days of taking the medicine, we need to keep taking it until it's all gone.  If we stop now, we risk a relapse where the bacteria come back even stronger than before. And that, sir, is the situation we face in Iraq.  Too soon to stop now."

Petraeus, the War Fighter, said it best,

"We have the forces that we need right now, I believe. We've got to continue. We have our teeth into their jugular, and we need to keep it there."  

Meanwhile, Obama, the Linguistic Gymnast, proves that he's as skilled at twisting words as William Jefferson Clinton. 

PHI 101 Quantum Computing

/quantum-computing-explained

Comey Memos

-read-comeys-memos-on-conversations-with-Trump

Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra

thus-spoke-zarathustra-by-friedrich-nietzsche

Paganism Podcast: JR. Forasteros

What is Paganism? What do Christians and Pagans have in common? What are some important differences?

Michigan Removed 177,000 Voters from Voter Rolls in January After Certifying Biden Won Michigan by 154,000 Votes in November

Michigan Removed 177,000 Voters from Voter Rolls in January After Certifying Biden Won Michigan by 154,000 Votes in November

Ian Hunter, 2016, Backstage with the Hollywood Vampires

2016

AI Admissions

There are companies that already use AI to help students with the admissions process. Take ConnecPath; it’s an AI-based Q&A platform that seeks to answer students’ questions about colleges. Then there’s Delphia, a company that recently presented at Y Combinator Demo Day, which aims to use surveys to help people make life choices, including where to attend college.

HUM 111 REL 205 Why Didn’t Moses Enter the Promised Land?

Moses-promised-land

HUM 111 Arch of Titus: Rome and the Menorah

The Arch of Titus: Rome and the Menorah explores one of the most significant Roman monuments to survive from antiquity, from the perspectives of Roman, Jewish and later Christian history and art. The Arch of Titus commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem by the emperor Titus in 70 CE, an event of pivotal importance for the history of the Roman Empire, of Judaism, of Christianity and of modern nationalism.

Beacon Networking Minute

Networking

Pat Schaeffer, Principal of Talent Strategy Partners, is this week's featured presenter on the Beacon Leaders' Minute video series. Pat discusses some tips on networking introductions that work, as outlined by Beacon's Alliance partner, Contacts Count. Beacon is the premier executive networking organization serving the mid-Atlantic region.

https://youtu.be/na8rMPdrk7s

Alumni Relationships

Fidelum_UDayton-Alumni-Giving

New Books in Religion Podcast

In a meticulously researched study The Specter of the Indian: Race, Gender and Ghosts in American Seances, 1848-1890 (SUNY Press, 2017), Kathryn Troy investigates the many examples of Indian ghosts appearing to Spiritualists in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The book explores non-judgmentally the ways in which these ghosts motivated their mediums and other Spiritualists to engage with the rights of living Native Americans.James Mackay is Assistant Professor of British and American Studies at European University Cyprus, and is one of the founding editors of the open access Indigenous Studies journal Transmotion. He can be reached at  [j.mackay@euc.ac.cy](mailto:j.mackay@euc.ac.cy) .

New Books in Religion Podcast: Western Sufism: From the Abbasids to the New Age

In his work, Western Sufism: From the Abbasids to the New Age (Oxford University Press, 2017), Mark Sedgwick maps the ideational processes that have led to the development of contemporary western Sufism. Sedgwick showcases how Neoplatonism influenced Arab philosophy and subsequently Sufism. Pre-modern Sufism then appealed to Jewish and Christian mystics, who framed Sufism as a non-Islamic tradition, in effect emphasizing its universalism. With this historical mapping Sedgwick masterfully showcases how, even in its earliest period, Sufism was engaged with by Muslims and non-Muslims, and thus the fluidities noted in western Sufism in the contemporary context is by no means unique, but rather reflective of an age-old process of textual, philosophical and mystical transmissions. Moving between questions of orthodoxy and heterodoxy, universal and Islamic, this study naturally challenges how we think and frame Sufism. This book is a must read for anyone interested in Sufism, especially in modern western Sufism. M. Shobhana Xavier is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Ithaca College. Her research areas are on contemporary Sufism in North America and South Asia. She is the author of Sacred Spaces and Transnational Networks in American Sufism (Bloomsbury Press, 2018)  and a co-author of Contemporary Sufism: Piety, Politics, and Popular Culture (Routledge, 2018). More details about her research and scholarship may be found here  and here. She may be reached at  [mxavier@ithaca.edu](mailto:mxavier@ithaca.edu) .

HUM 111 Constantine: Religious Faith and Imperial Policy

Constantine

Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues

subterranean-homesick-blues

Follow Your Bliss, Joseph Campbell

“Follow your bliss.
If you do follow your bliss,
you put yourself on a kind of track
that has been there all the while waiting for you,
and the life you ought to be living
is the one you are living.
When you can see that,
you begin to meet people
who are in the field of your bliss,
and they open the doors to you.
I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid,
and doors will open
where you didn't know they were going to be.
If you follow your bliss,
doors will open for you that wouldn't have opened for anyone else.”

― Joseph Campbell

Joseph_Campbell

HUM 111 Medievalism, Politics and Mass Media: Appropriating the Middle Ages in the Twenty-First Century

Elliott, Andrew B. R. Medievalism, Politics and Mass Media: Appropriating the Middle Ages in the Twenty-First Century. Medievalism. Woodbridge: D.S. Brewer, 2017. Pp. 223. $39.95. ISBN: 978-1-84384-463-1.

  Reviewed by Richard Utz
       Georgia Institute of Technology
       richard.utz@lmc.gatech.edu


While researched, written, and published before most of last year's momentous discussions about the role of race, gender, politics, and ideology in medieval studies and medievalism, Andrew Elliott's study is a timely and relevant contribution to the field. It continues the work begun by Louise D'Arcens and Andrew Lynch (eds., International Medievalism and Popular Culture, 2014), Tommaso Carpegna di Falconieri (Medioevo militante: La politica di oggi alle prese con barbari e crociati, 2011), David M. Marshall (ed., Mass Market Medieval: Essays on the Middle Ages in Popular Culture, 2007), and Bruce Holsinger (Neomedievalism, Neoconservatism, and the War on Terror, 2007), but deepens their insights with a focus on the roles of contemporary media and communication, specifically online medievalisms. It also offers an original theoretical framework for future investigations.

Aware of the often visceral reactions of medieval historians to the public (mis)use of the Middle Ages by non-academic voices, Elliott is careful to prepare a secure theoretical foundation for his subject matter in the first three chapters. He immediately demarcates medievalisms referring to medieval history from heavily mediated popular political medievalisms. For the latter, the Middle Ages is most often merely a "'surprise player' used throughout political discussion by the modern media in order to become a site of identity, a point of identification or an ideological weapon then reused across other media" (6). According to Elliott, these popular medievalisms tend to originate in a three-step process: First, they need to be expropriated from history, as when medieval objects, concepts, and symbols are invoked in a postmedieval context; second, this expropriation is repeated and retransmitted, allowing the meaning of the object, concept, and symbol to gradually stand for new meanings increasingly unrelated to any historical reality; and third, the object, concept, or symbols is assimilated, translated, and modified so that it is completely "divested [...] of its original meanings and context-dependent significance making it ripe to be grafted onto modern concerns" (6). In chapters 4 and 5 of his study, Elliott details this process for the use of the (medieval) crusades by both George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden:
"In each case, though for very different purposes, the cultural symbolism of the Crusades was excised from its original meaning, transmitted through the mass media in a new form, and ultimately became the subject of a dispute not over their original meaning but over their new significance as an ideological weapon. So when bin Laden calls on his fellow Muslims to resist a Crusader invasion of the Holy Land, he is referring to an established tradition which has, through relentless repetition, assimilated the modern armed incursions into the Middle East with twentieth- and twenty-first-century "crusades." Likewise, it is precisely because the term was already in use that Bush's famous description of the War on Terror as a Crusade had such enormous political and ideological resonance"(6-7).

In chapter 6, Elliott shows a similar process at work for the events and media reception of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian far-right terrorist who killed 77 people in 2011 and justified his actions by stylizing himself as a Knight Templar defending western civilization against its allegedly impending Islamization. Chapters 7 and 8 move on to a discussion of the popular political medievalisms of the right-wing English Defense League (EDL) and the Islamic State (IS), respectively.

The central claim of Medievalism, Politics and Mass Media is that these various social media and other online mass medievalisms have little or nothing to do with the historical Middle Ages, but only and exclusively exist because of contemporary meme culture. In this culture, traditional models of authority and authenticity for communicating about medieval culture are pretty much irrelevant. Instead of the onerous identification of sources, causes, and paths of transmission, which would challenge ambiguity and inaccuracy, the modes of dissemination for medievalist memes in contemporary mass media are excellent examples of Jean Baudrillard's simulacra, presenting world-wide audiences with copies of copies without an original. However, even a Baudrillardian analysis of the vertical relationships between contemporary medievalisms and the Middle Ages will not do justice to the empty signifiers dominating current mass media. What is needed to understand these medievalist memes is an investigation into the horizontal relationships between various contemporary and multiply mediated mass medievalisms.

Elliott clearly has the background in communication and media theory necessary for dealing with these "elastic," "ludic," "pejorative," and "deliberately inappropriate" (all terms used in Elliott's study) mass medievalisms. In Michael Billig's Banal Nationalism (1995), which explores the uses of nationalism as when someone waves the flag not as part of a conscious and specific expression of national identity, but as a vague celebration of patriotic identity, Elliott has found a perfect model for his own study. He investigates "banal medievalisms," which he describes as bricolages of ideological redeployments of medievalist tropes or memes, or "the Middle Ages in the twenty-first century media landscape" as "unconscious sites of unchallenged heritage and, ultimately, unchallenged reference points in our collective imagination" (16). Like Billig's seemingly innocuous "banal nationalisms," Elliott reveals "banal medievalisms" as an "endemic condition made more powerful by the fact that [they] pass unobserved in most cases" (17). Behind these medievalisms' superficially harmless repetitions and unaware remediations, then, he recognizes the potential for the kind of banal evil Hannah Arendt diagnosed in the quotidian absence and failure of thinking, imagination, and self-awareness embodied by Hitler's Adolf Eichmann.

Many traditional medievalists will consider Elliott's book as external to medieval studies and therefore unrelated to their own work. After all, he is investigating medievalisms that are intentionally extirpated from the past events, texts, and artifacts they study. Moreover, these semantically "flattened" medievalisms are popular and political, two features most academics have learned to treat with disdain or at least caution. However, I would suggest that all medievalists should read his book because they will gain important insights into how their own published work and their teaching will increasingly be perceived by academic as well as non-academic audiences. Even if only to resist the alacrity with which these medievalisms can now spread at an electronic news cycle's notice, it serves medievalists well to comprehend the processes by which certain dominant (and often contradictory) ideas of the Middle Ages come about and are transmitted.

The association between "Middle East" and "Middle Ages" in the early 2000s is a case in point: Elliott documents how politicians, journalists, and others on instant messaging services and social media ceaselessly repeated and repurposed banal tropes and memes of the Middle Ages as regressive, violent, superstitious, primitive, anti-modern, and non-technological, until these tropes and memes ended up in support of political positions completely unrelated to anything we know about medieval culture. Elliott even documents how similar or the same memes of the "dark ages" were employed by the U.S. government as well as by Al Qaeda: If George W. Bush's famous post-9/11 gaffe about calling his "war on terrorism" a "crusade" was the beginning of a wholesale cultural clash between the "modern" west and the "medieval" East, Osama bin Laden employed Bush's neoconservative use of western orientalist/medievalist rhetoric and its elision of Islamism, Islam, and Arabic culture to mask Al Qaeda's own technological sophistication as well as to brand the western interference in the Middle East as a Crusader/Zionist alliance.

Medievalism, Politics and Mass Media would be a valuable contribution to our understanding of the phenomenon of medievalism if only for the wealth of illustrative examples it provides. However, I predict that its real legacy will be in affording a solid theoretical framework within which we can unpack what otherwise might well remain a confusing maze of medievalist mass media references. As Elliott states: "[M]edievalisms are rich with meaning because they are used so often across the mass media that the meaning is made elastic. Thus the (seemingly circuitous) assertion of banal medievalism is that medievalisms have meaning because they surround us, and they surround us because they have meaning" (45). I am grateful to Andrew Elliott for providing us with sound scholarly tools with which to explain the proliferation of banal medievalisms in the last 15 years, and I expect similar guidance about the sociological processes motivating the cultural phenomenon of medievalism from Paul Sturtevant's forthcoming book, The Middle Ages in Popular Imagination: Memory, Film and Medievalism. How long these tools will be efficient may depend on the accelerating pace of new communication technologies and how users and societies negotiate them. And the scholarly monograph, which takes years to write and thus considerably lags behind the speed at which technological change drives communicative practice, may not be the most efficient genre for critically accompanying what the future holds for the study of mass media medievalisms.

Ian Hunter, Sunshine Eyes

Matt Nojonen: ‘Sunshine Eyes’ is actually one of the best things I ever wrote and it still gets me emotionally. It’s just me and a drum machine and a crappy organ playing in our NYC apartment over the East River. It’s about Jesse.

April 2018 Horses’s Mouth