Georges Dumézil, Ancient German Myths, and Modern Demons
The article deals with Arnaldo Momigliano's accusation, in the early 1980's, that Georges Dumézil had harbored pro-Nazi sympathies in the 1930's, and with the ensuing polemics. It is mainly between French and Italian scholars that this polemics took place, throughout the 80's and...
| Published in: | Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Diagonal-Verlag
2012
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| In: |
Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | The article deals with Arnaldo Momigliano's accusation, in the early 1980's, that Georges Dumézil had harbored pro-Nazi sympathies in the 1930's, and with the ensuing polemics. It is mainly between French and Italian scholars that this polemics took place, throughout the 80's and beyond. With few exceptions, North American and German scholars seem to have taken little interest in the discussion. It involves, however, problems of the highest importance for the epistemology of the contemporary history of religion and the study of mythology, and their close, although often hidden, relationships with rightist ideologies. The purpose of the article was not to unveil new facts, but rather to present what is known as succintly and fairly as possible, in order to launch a broader discussion of some the issues at stake among historians of religion. The main findings do not corroborate Momigliano's (and Carlo Ginzburg's) accusations. Various troubling elements in Dumézil's attitudes and sympathies are better understood in the context of their time. It is perhaps significant that Momigliano, who repeatedly said he knew from experience what a totalitarian regime meant, never refered to his own membership in the Fascist party. |
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| ISSN: | 2194-508X |
| Contains: | In: Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/0029.125 |