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Wednesday 28 June 2023

Blavatsky, William Q. Judge & Charles Johnston (Shawn F. Higgins)

William Q. Judge and family
After forty years of progress, the academic quality of theosophical history can reach a very high level of research. I would like to draw attention to a series of papers from a certain Shawn F. Higgins of the Harvard Divinity School, who has recently posted a series of writings on theosophical history of an exceptional level of quality and research, which feature, in certain cases, I think, some ground-breaking work on people and subjects that have had little coverage so far.
 
Is this a book? An epic 10-part series of articles of episodes showcasing a vast array of historical figures involved with the Theosophical Society in the 1880s from around the world, beginning with Irish, later American Theosophist Charles Johnston.  
THE AGONISED WOMB OF CONSCIOUSNESS 
March 18, 2023 by   
 
Part 10
 
Sketch by Blavatsky
THE SHADE OF SATTAY
February 25, 2023 by
the story of Govindarao Sattay, the first male Brahmin to visit America in 1884 with much interesting information about William Q. Judge
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/marginalia/2023/02/shade-of-sattay/
 
THE SILENT PASSENGER. December 30, 2022 
Short piece on William Q. Judge's travel to Ireland in 1888
 
“SPIRITS BRIGHT AND AIRY.”  January 6, 2023 
Short piece on William Q. Judge's childhood

Rare photo of Bhavani Shankar, right

“NOW, AND FOREVER.”
January 17, 2023 
William Q. Judge's in Ireland in 1888
 
THE ESOTERIC SCHOOL  
November 24, 2022
Short piece about Ernest Temple Hargrove
 
An intriguing paper on meteorological phenomena in 1874, references John W. Draper states in History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science (1874)
Sword of the Living Flame March 5, 2023
 
THE BENEDICK [PREFACE]: TALKS ON RELIGION
February 12, 2023
During the academic year of 1906-1907, Henry Bedinger Mitchell, president of the New York Branch (NYB) of the Griscom Theosophical Society (GTS,) hosted a series of monthly meetings in his rooms at The Benedick Apartments (80 Washington Square East, New York) to discuss the intersection of science, philosophy, and religion. Being an adjunct professor of mathematics at Columbia University, the participants of these talks were largely pooled from Mitchell’s colleagues in the various departments of Columbia.  These talks were recorded by a stenographer, and subsequently reprinted in the journal, The Theosophical Quarterly. In 1908 these articles were collected and published as a nine-chapter book titled, Talks on Religion.


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Monday 5 June 2023

Blavatsky, Alternative Archaeology & Ignatius Donnelly

A recent Graham Hancock TV series was quite popular and elicited considerable response from mainstream archaeologists, often quite politicized. Blavatsky was not mentioned that much, but since it touches upon topics close to her ideas about ancient civilizations, I thought this might be of interest. Most of these articles are critical of the mainstream archaeology response, but I'm not taking sides here. I have great respect for the work of historians and archaeologists and I agree that one should watch out for colonialist bias in sources. It's just that the pro-archaeologist articles we're so widespread, that I felt it would be good to highlight other viewpoints in order to try to encourage a more balanced perspective.

Ancient Apocalypse’ and the Ugly Battle Between Alternative and Mainstream Archaeology
Greg Taylor Tuesday, December 20th
 
'The Most Dangerous Show on Netflix'?
Progressives criticized Ancient Apocalypse because it challenged their most basic assumptions.
Kenneth Schrupp
Dec 21, 2022
 
Attack of the Archaeologists
A professional society of academics whines publicly they feel demeaned by Graham Hancock. Does that validate his ideas?
Mark Hammons Dec 7, 2022
 
A Series About the Origins of Ancient Civilzations is Being Called 'the Most Dangerous Show on Netflix,' Because We've All Gone Insane Jerry Thornton 12/01/2022
 
These Netflix Documentaries Are Hits. Scientists Hate Them.
Aylin WoodwardJan 20, 2024 Wall Street Journal
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/these-netflix-documentaries-are-hits-scientists-hate-them/ar-BB1gYsbm
 
Good article that covers problems related to recent widely mediatized Graham_Hancock-Archaeologist debate
Kenneth Feder is failing on Atlantis
A critical commentary on Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries
Thorwald C. Franke 3 October 2021
 
Cornelius Holtorf (2005) Beyond crusades: how (not) to engage with alternative archaeologies, World Archaeology, 37:4, 544-551
 
Doctor Huguet: Ignatius Donnelly on Being Black
John R. Bovee Minnesota History Summer 1969 286-94
In every intelligent white man the intelligent black man will find a defender; and the reign of peace and love and brotherhood will begin 
 
I agree that Atlantis theory should be de-colonialized, but claims by archaeologists that Ignatius Donnelly's work has white supremacy issues seem to me unproven, needs more work. His Doctor Huguet novel 1891, is strongly anti-racist
JS Patterson American Quarterly 22, 4 1970
 
Bad title, but good article, well-researched:
Ignatius Donnelly: Paranoid progressive in the Gilded Age  Zac Farber May 30, 2018
https://minnlawyer.com/2018/05/30/ignatius-donnelly-paranoid-progressive-in-the-gilded-age/ 
 
The show came out around the same time as the second Black Panther movie, which was kind of an intriguing moment that indicated how theosophical influences have converged in rather strange but relevant intersection of debates in politics, religion, anthropology and pop culture.  
 
In terms of the need for inter-disciplinary studies, and what I've been writing about on the importance of esoteric studies in history and politics, see:
Egil Asprem Esoteric Knowledge, Alternative Spirituality, and Conspiracy Theories January 10, 2022

“Disinformation studies” is an emerging multidisciplinary speciality that brings together psychologists, computer scientists, sociologists, engineers, philosophers, mathematicians, behavioral scientists, military scholars, historians, political scientists, linguists, and more.' Caroline Orr Bueno
 
Canadian radio current affairs show, Ideas, not bad, could be worse, they mention Blavatsky a few times, not accurate, but tolerable, well-produced.
Atlantis and the Apocalypse: The World of Pseudo-Archaeology
 
Besides, the CBC radio program, here's another pro-mainstream archaeology piece, not bad, it gets into the history and socio-political issues of the question.
The Strange and Dangerous Right-Wing Freakout Over Ancient Apocalypse
 
The exception, of course, is within the narrow world of ancient mysteries-themed New Age media. This fall, in New Dawn magazine and reprinted this week on Graham Hancock’s website, David Thrussell, an Australian composer, published a retrospective on Ancient Apocalypse in which he attacked me personally for advocating “totalitarian” ideas in an effort to suppress Hancock’s alternative history in the name of purifying the body of humanity from the disease of intellectual dissent:
 
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