The Ancient Ethnostate: Biopolitical Thought in Classical Greece by Guillaume Durocher (Kindle Direct Publishing Edition 2021, currently only available as paperback via Amazon) examines ancient Greek authors, from Homer to Aristotle, regarding their ethics and customs concerning biological and cultural relationships: whether families and clans, city-states with their colonies, or the entire Greek nation. Highly … Continue reading “Durocher’s Ancient Ethnostate”
Tag: Culture
Culture and society
Biagioli’s Galileo, Courtier
Mario Biagioli’s Galileo, Courtier (University of Chicago Press 1993, paperback 1994, ISBN 0–226–04560–9) examines the major stations of Galileo Galilei’s career in the context of the contemporary courtly society, and especially its patronage system. Clocking in at over 500 pages in the German translation I read (an accidental bookstore discovery), the writing is somewhat long-winded … Continue reading “Biagioli’s Galileo, Courtier”
Translation: Repressiver Liberalismus
Last year I had translated two works by an anonymous Austrian author, Volle Fahrt ins Nichts (translation: Full Speed Into the Void) concerning right-wing populist parties, and Die große Müdigkeit (translation: The Great Fatigue) on reactionary fantasies. Over a year later a third essay has finally appeared, Repressiver Liberalismus, a somber view on the crumbling … Continue reading “Translation: Repressiver Liberalismus”
Martin Luther’s Bible Translation
In my last post on Really Old German from the book Sternstunden I remarked in closing that the chapter on Martin Luther shouldn’t bring any big surprises. Turns out I was wrong. I expected some excerpts from his famous translation of the New Testament but instead this chapter contains Luther’s comments on his translation, cited … Continue reading “Martin Luther’s Bible Translation”
Really Old German
If you’re interested highlights of historical German literature there is one very excellent book,“Sternstunden: Große Texte deutscher Sprache,” by Josef Kraus and Walter Krämer, IFB Verlag Deutsche Sprache GmbH, ISBN 978-3-942409-74-2. Most of it covers relatively modern German texts but the most interesting parts, as far as I am concerned, are the two most ancient … Continue reading “Really Old German”
Moskau, Moskau!
Dschinghis Khan is a German (but really multi-national) disco band formed in Munich by prolific producer Ralph Siegel in 1979, competing in that year’s Eurovision song contest with an eponymous song that reached fourth place. So much, so amusing and irrelevant. Except then something else happened. Still in 1979, the band released Moskau. That was … Continue reading “Moskau, Moskau!”
Translation: Die große Müdigkeit
Some weeks ago the anonymous Austrian author who had written the fascinating article Volle Fahrt ins Nichts, which I had translated as Full Speed Into the Void, had published a follow-up essay elaborating on some points from the original article. I have once again translated that new essay, entitled in the original Die große Müdigkeit, … Continue reading “Translation: Die große Müdigkeit”
Translation: Volle Fahrt ins Nichts
Nearly two weeks ago an anonymous author – apparently an Austrian identitarian – published Volle Fahrt ins Nichts, a very interesting analysis of right-wing populist parties in the West, concluding they are unlikely to achieve their goals. This essay was shared by another (not quite anonymous) Austrian identitarian on Twitter who assured me he knows … Continue reading “Translation: Volle Fahrt ins Nichts”
Forgotten Baroque Music
Europe’s era of baroque music (ca. 1600–1750) comprises most of the oldest historical compositions still widely played today, with some notable exceptions such as medieval church chorals and renaissance lutists. Everyone at all interested in the subject knows the baroque grandmasters: Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643), Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672), Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713), Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), Georg Philipp … Continue reading “Forgotten Baroque Music”
Newspapers Still Keep Shrinking
The recent massive layoffs at the New York Daily News prompted me to revisit the ongoing massacre at American newspapers and other news media. First, here are a couple of articles to quantify the damage. Bureau of Labor Statistics (1990–2016): newspaper employment shrank from 455,000 to 183,200 and books plus periodicals from 232,200 to 155,100, … Continue reading “Newspapers Still Keep Shrinking”