My latest article entitled, “The Russian Restrainer of the Apocalypse: The Katechon in St. Paul, Carl Schmitt, and Alexander Dugin,” is now available in the latest edition of the journal, Islamic Perspective (Vol. 27, Spring 2022). This article was the basis of my presentation at the annual Critical Theory conference at Loyola University in Rome, Italy, this past May.
On May 11th, 2022, I had the distinct honor to join numerous other scholars discussing “Global Perspectives on War and Crisis,” as it relates to Russia’s war on Ukraine. My presentation was predominately about the Russian philosopher, Alexander Dugin, and the influence of his political ideology on Putin’s war.
On May 18th, I had the distinct honor to present my work, “A Culture cannot survive without Strong Gods,” wherein I discussed the New Testament’s notion of the Katechon, or “restrainer” of the Antichrist, and its extension into political theology. The paper was entitled, “He who restrains the Apocalypse: The Katechon in St. Paul, Carl Schmitt, and Alexander Dugin,” and it will be published later in the journal Islamic Perspective. This paper was especially important as it relates to how Russia’s current war on Ukraine is seen through apocalyptic and eschatological lenses, via the Russian philosopher, Alexander Dugin – the founder of Neo-Eurasianism and the “Fourth Political Theory.” I was joined by my dear friends Mlado Ivanovic of Northern Michigan University, Jeremiah Morelock of Boston College, and Panayota Gournari of Boston University. The 14th annual Critical Theory conference was held at Loyola University John Felice Center in Rome, Italy.
Soon after I returned to Kalamazoo from Rome, I was informed that the Board of Trustees at Olivet College had unanimously voted to confer the status of full professor on me. That’s awesome news. I started teaching as an adjunct at Olivet College in 2004, started my tenure track in 2008, and after being an Assistant and Associate Professor, I’m now Full professor! Good feeling, for sure.
I was happy to join numerous other scholars in a discussion about Russia’s war on Ukraine and its ramifications for the global order, on Sunday April 17th at 9:30am, via Zoom. This discourse was sponsored by the Institute for Critical Social Theory and the full video is below.
I am happy to report that my latest article, written for the Polish journal Praktyka Teoretyczna, has now been released. I am honored to have been published with the other esteemed scholars who contributed to this edition of the journal, entitled, “Latency of the Crisis,” and edited by Felipe Ziotti Narita and Jeremiah Morelock. My article can be found below:
On January 23rd, 2022, I participated in a discourse on the topic of Weltschmerz, or “world pain,” and its pervasiveness throughout the modern world. I was joined by my colleagues Seyed Javad Miri, Toraj Gilbert Moradi, Mehdi Shariati, and Rudolf J. Siebert. The video is below:
Below is my presentation in the “Weltschmerz: A Discourse on a Global Condition” roundtable event:
I was honored to join several other scholars of Ali Shariati in a discussion of Shariati’s life and work. This roundtable convened in remembrance of Shariati’ premature death in 1975, just a four years before the Iranian revolution, which he contributed to. In my presentation, I talked about Shariati’s dialectics of religion, especially as it relates to the Hassan model of religious quietism vs. the Hussain model of religious activism. This modeling of Shi’i emancipatory activism is based on my book, “Ayatollah Khomeini and the Anatomy of the Islamic Revolution in Iran: Towards a Theory of Prophetic Charisma,” which was published by University Press of America. The entire discourse can be found in the two links below, as well as my excerpted presentation.
The presenters included: Sayed Hasan Akhlaq (USA), Dustin J. Byrd, (USA), Seyed Javad Miri (Iran), Michael Naughton (UK), Mehdi Shariati (USA), Esmaeil Zeiny (Malaysia)
I was honored to participate in another roundtable discussion of scholars on November 21st, 2021, for International Philosophy Day. Joined by scholars from the US, UK, Iran, and Malaysia, I discussed the need for philosophers and social theorists to think through the past, the present, and the future, especially as it relates to the catastrophes of history, the dysgenic nature of the present, and the trends that point to a challenging future. The links for Part 1, Part 2, and my presentation are below.
I was happy to join my doktorväter in this important endeavor: understanding the dialectical nature of Roman religion. Our chapter is rooted in the dialectical philosophy of Hegel, and explains the du et des (quid pro quo) aspects of ancient Roman religion. Information on the book, including the Table of Contents and a sample of the chapter, can be found below.
The book can be purchased through Franz Steiner Verlag’s website.
dustinjbyrd
Dustin J. Byrd, Ph.D. 