This study is centered around the early work of Richard Dauenhauer. I begin by describing the sys... more This study is centered around the early work of Richard Dauenhauer. I begin by describing the systematic methodological approach Dauenhauer developed in his doctoral dissertation and the ways he applied it in a study of Tlingit songs, speeches, and oral narratives. While laying out his system and methodology, I situate his work in the context of his major theoretical source material. I also offer analysis and exegesis of the implicit theoretical dimensions of his work by appealing to theories within and beyond Dauenhauer’s central theoretical domain of folkloristics. I extend Dauenhauer’s project into different theoretical and philosophical discourses, especially emphasizing phenomenology, dialectical critique, and Levinasian ethics. This prompts a critical reassessment of Dauenhauer’s systematic approach and a new interpretation of his work as decolonial critique. Through this process I appeal largely to the critical work of Fredric Jameson, Emmanuel Levinas, Enrique Dussel, Franz Fanon, and Nelson Maldonado- Torres. Examining Dauenhauer’s work in this way allows for it to be viewed within its own concrete historical moment while also opening some of its unexplored practical and theoretical dimensions. Moving from folkloristics to decolonial critique reaffirms the political and ethical aspects of Dauenhauer’s work and offers an important way of extending his project into the future.
This study is centered around the early work of Richard Dauenhauer. I begin by describing the sys... more This study is centered around the early work of Richard Dauenhauer. I begin by describing the systematic methodological approach Dauenhauer developed in his doctoral dissertation and the ways he applied it in a study of Tlingit songs, speeches, and oral narratives. While laying out his system and methodology, I situate his work in the context of his major theoretical source material. I also offer analysis and exegesis of the implicit theoretical dimensions of his work by appealing to theories within and beyond Dauenhauer’s central theoretical domain of folkloristics. I extend Dauenhauer’s project into different theoretical and philosophical discourses, especially emphasizing phenomenology, dialectical critique, and Levinasian ethics. This prompts a critical reassessment of Dauenhauer’s systematic approach and a new interpretation of his work as decolonial critique. Through this process I appeal largely to the critical work of Fredric Jameson, Emmanuel Levinas, Enrique Dussel, Franz Fanon, and Nelson Maldonado- Torres. Examining Dauenhauer’s work in this way allows for it to be viewed within its own concrete historical moment while also opening some of its unexplored practical and theoretical dimensions. Moving from folkloristics to decolonial critique reaffirms the political and ethical aspects of Dauenhauer’s work and offers an important way of extending his project into the future.
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