Category Archives: Emile Benveniste

Indo-European Thought in Twentieth-Century France update 14: returning to work, tracking Benveniste’s teaching, and working with archives including the Aurel Stein collections in London

I have now been back at work for a few weeks, initially beginning half-time and gradually increasing what I can do. The support I have had from my department for a long period off work and a phased transition has … Continue reading

Posted in Aurel Stein, Emile Benveniste, Mapping Indo-European Thought in Twentieth Century France, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

On the trail of Aurel Stein – working in archives for the Indo-European thought project

The research for the Indo-European thought project has been difficult to confine to a solely French focus. I knew I wanted to begin what will probably be the first chapter with the story of the Mission Paul Pelliot, an expedition to Chinese … Continue reading

Posted in Aurel Stein, Emile Benveniste, Mapping Indo-European Thought in Twentieth Century France | 5 Comments

Indo-European Thought in Twentieth-Century France update 13: work on Benveniste, Saussure and in UK archives, a seminar on the research, and a brief health update

In an earlier post here I briefly mentioned the medical issues that put me in hospital for three weeks in July. The operation was a success and I am making a good, though slow, recovery. I have been at home for a … Continue reading

Posted in Emile Benveniste, Ernst Kantorowicz, Ferdinand de Saussure, Georges Dumézil, Mircea Eliade, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

“Indo-European Thought in Post-War France“, Warwick Seminar for Interdisciplinary French Studies, 31 May 2023 (video)

My talk to the Warwick Seminar for Interdisciplinary French Studies was recorded and is available online – “Indo-European Thought in Post-War France“ I begin with two stories – one about the Mission Paul Pelliot and its importance to the early … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Emile Benveniste, Georges Dumézil, Mapping Indo-European Thought in Twentieth Century France, Mircea Eliade, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

‘Indo-European Thought in Post-War France’, Warwick Seminar for Interdisciplinary French Studies, 31 May 2023, 4pm

Update: the recording is available here For anyone interested in my new project, I’ll be speaking about some of it in an online seminar today at 4pm: ‘Indo-European Thought in Post-War France’, Warwick Seminar for Interdisciplinary French Studies

Posted in Emile Benveniste, Georges Dumézil, Mapping Indo-European Thought in Twentieth Century France, Mircea Eliade | Leave a comment

Indo-European Thought in Twentieth-Century France update 12: working in some UK archives; Benveniste’s EPHE teaching; some talks on the research

After the last update a friend contacted me with some valuable information – about an archive which was already on my list of ones to try to visit when in the United States next year, but should certainly now be … Continue reading

Posted in Claude Lévi-Strauss, Emile Benveniste, Eric Hobsbawm, Georges Dumézil, Gillian Rose, Henri Lefebvre, Mapping Indo-European Thought in Twentieth Century France, Michel Foucault, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

James McElvenny (ed.), The Limits of Structuralism: Forgotten Texts in the History of Modern Linguistics – Oxford University Press, March 2023

James McElvenny (ed.), The Limits of Structuralism: Forgotten Texts in the History of Modern Linguistics – Oxford University Press, March 2023 An expensive but interesting looking collection – also available on Oxford Scholarship Online. Based around seven primary texts spanning … Continue reading

Posted in Emile Benveniste, Roman Jakobson | Leave a comment

Marie-Louise Sjoestedt (1900-1940) – an important scholar of Celtic languages and mythology

Update January 2025: A revised and expanded version of this post is here. One of the problems with my current project on Indo-European thought in France is how male-dominated it is. If you look at a photograph of the Collège … Continue reading

Posted in Emile Benveniste, Georges Dumézil, Mapping Indo-European Thought in Twentieth Century France, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Indo-European thought in twentieth-century France update 11: Dumézil and Charachidzé’s work on Ubykh; Lévi-Strauss and his archive; Eliade’s correspondence; Koyré’s networks; and continuing work with Dumézil’s archive

My attempt with this project to keep to a broadly chronological order of working through of Georges Dumézil’s major publications (see last update) took a bit of a detour, as his 1931 book La Langue des Oubykhs led me to follow the thread … Continue reading

Posted in Alexandre Koyré, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Emile Benveniste, Georges Dumézil, Italo Calvino, Jacques Lacan, Mapping Indo-European Thought in Twentieth Century France, Mircea Eliade, Roman Jakobson, Umberto Eco, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Alexandre Koyré and a network of ideas

In several previous projects – on Foucault, Heidegger, Canguilhem, territory – I’ve briefly mentioned the work of Alexandre Koyré. He’s coming up again in the new work in relation to Benveniste, Dumézil, Lévi-Strauss and Jakobson. Koyré introduced Lévi-Strauss to Jakobson … Continue reading

Posted in Alexandre Koyré, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Edmund Husserl, Emile Benveniste, Georges Canguilhem, Georges Dumézil, Martin Heidegger, Michel Foucault, Roman Jakobson, Territory | 13 Comments