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April 23, 2005
Back home
I came back from Germany two days ago. It was a nice trip and quite refreshing after the pressure of the last quarter. The weather in Germany was great, and hanging out with my girlfriend and just going out and seeing places and shopping was fun.
I have a lot of work to catch-up with though, from Sanskrit to Old Norse and Medieval History! Plus the fact that next Saturday, there is a Seminar in Late Antiquity conference at the UCLA, and I have a paper to present about Mazdak and his Sexual Communism. I seriously have to work on this one.
Today and tomorrow, there is a "Festival of Books" at the UCLA. Judging from the set-up, it should be gigantic! I am indulging myself today, and if I manage to take pictures, I will post them off here.
Wish me luck!
Posted by Khodadad at April 23, 2005 08:29 AM
Comments
Good Luck! What is Sexual Communism? Is that when the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, and the proletariat all get together for a massive orgy? :)
Posted by: David at April 23, 2005 11:12 AM
Exactly David! Mazdak was a 6th century Iranian revolutionary/reformer. He had unusual ideas about society and distribution of wealth and possessions. Sadly, we only know about him and his beliefs through the writings of his enemies.
In any event, one of the reforms attributed to him was "communal sharing of partners" or Sexual Communism. This has been a constant mention of his reforms, and a major tool to dismiss his ideas. I believe that this was a common slander, used to discredit many reformers (kinky sex is always a good way to question people's moral authority). So, I am trying to argue the same.
Posted by: khodadad at April 23, 2005 07:40 PM
Welcome back and good luck
Posted by: Amir at April 24, 2005 08:17 AM
It sounds like Mazdak may have been a popular figure with a cult of followers in his day? It seems like a lot of cults involve the leader advocating a lot of "communal sharing", often just for himself! Perhaps Mazdak was not as selfish.
I have written a new post, something very special to me. Btw, I'm not sure if you ever saw my previous post. Maybe you were in Europe when I posted it. Not that all my posts are worth reading. :)
Posted by: David at April 24, 2005 06:03 PM
Communal sharing of partners... did he mean both for men and women? If that is the case, he was quite forward, I must admit.
I really enjoyed your pictures from Slovenia. Nice ones :-).
Posted by: SRay at April 24, 2005 06:19 PM
Khodadad,
Thanks for visiting my blog. I appreciate it very much...
Posted by: koozeh at April 26, 2005 12:23 PM