Udo Mario Strutynski (born September 21, 1942) is an Austrian-born American linguist and lawyer. As a linguist, Strutynski specializes in

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...

and

Germanic studies Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary tex ...

, particularly the study of Germanic and

Indo-European mythology Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, the hypothetical speakers of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested � ...

. As a lawyer he has distinguished himself to helping out victims of the

sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles The sexual abuse scandal in Los Angeles archdiocese covered events that were documented beginning in the 1930s, but most publicity was related to events of the 1970s through 1990s. Priests accused of molesting children or adults in the parish were ...

, of which he is himself a survivor.

Biography

Udo Strutynski was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria on 21 September 1942. Together with his mother, Strutynski came to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

as a refugee in 1950. His mother was a devout

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. Having graduated at the head of his class at Loyola High School, Strutynski received his

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

in 1963, his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA) in 1966, and his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

Germanic languages The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, Engli ...

from UCLA in 1975. He subsequently served as Assosicate Editor at

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...

(1975-1978), Assistant Professor of Anthropology at

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...

(1979-1980) and Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and Germanic at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

(1980-?). He became a member of the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...

. Strutynski specializes in the study Germanic and

epic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

, and Germanic and

European folklore European folklore or Western folklore refers to the folklore of the Western world, especially when discussed comparatively. The history of Christendom during the Early Modern period has resulted in a number of traditions that are shared in many ...

. He has authored a number of influential studies on those subjects. His research is strongly influenced by that of

Georges Dumézil Georges Edmond Raoul Dumézil (4 March 189811 October 1986) was a French philologist, linguist, and religious studies scholar who specialized in comparative linguistics and mythology. He was a professor at Istanbul University, École pratique d ...

. Strutynski gained a J.D. from UCLA in 1992, and was admitted to the

State Bar of California The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

on August 4, 1993. He subsequently became a partner at the firm of Chan & Strutynski, and notably provided legal counseling for Chinese clients in California. While a high school student, Strutynski was sexually abused by Father Thomas J. Sullivan, and Strutynski has dedicated himself towards helping other victims of the

. Strutynski was a plaintiff in a suit against the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in th ...

, in which more than 500 victims reached a $660 million settlement.

Selected works

* ''The Three Functions of Indo-European Tradition in the "Eumenides" of Aeschylus'', 1970 * (Contributor) ''Myth and Law among the Indo-Europeans'', 1970 * (Contributor) ''Gods of the Ancient Northmen '', 1973 * (Contributor) ''Myth in Indo-European Antiquity '', 1974 * "Germanic Divinities in Weekday Names", 1975 * "Philippson Contra Dumezil: An Answer to the Attack", 1977 * (Editor) ''Camillus: A Study of Indo-European Religion as Roman History '', 1980 * "Ares: A Reflex of the Indo-European War God?", 1980 * (Contributor) ''Georges Dumézil'', 1981 * ''Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense: The Warrior Sins of Sir Gawain'', 1982 * (Contributor) ''Homage to Georges Dumézil'', 1983 * "The Survival of Indo-European Mythology in Germanic Legendry", 1984 * (With Gunar Freibergs and C. Scott Littleton) "Indo-European Tripartition and the Ara Pacis Augustae: An Excursus in Ideological Archaeology", 1986

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strutsynski, Udo 1942 births American people of Austrian descent California lawyers Austrian folklorists American folklorists Germanic studies scholars Linguists from the United States Living people Mythographers Northwestern University faculty Occidental College faculty Lawyers from Vienna Academics from Vienna University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of California, Los Angeles faculty Writers on Germanic paganism Indo-Europeanists

Biography

Selected works

See also

References