University of Chicago Library

Guide to the Ioan P. Culianu Papers 1883-1991

2008 University of Chicago Library

Table of Contents Descriptive Summary Information on Use Access Citation Biographical Note Scope Note Related Resources Subject Headings INVENTORY Series I: Correspondence, 1975-1991 Series II: Mircea Eliade Series III: Writings by Culianu Series IV: Writings by Others Series V: Restricted 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 8 9 10 12

Descriptive Summary
Identifier Title Date Size Repository

ICU.SPCL.CULIANU Culianu, Ioan P. Papers 1883-1991 10 linear feet (20 boxes) Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A. Ioan Petru Culianu (1950-1991), Romanian-born historian of religions, essayist and fiction writer, served on the faculty of the University of Chicago's Divinity School. Mentored by Mircea Eliade, Culianu specialized in the history of Renaissance magic and mysticism. Culianu was murdered in the University of Chicago's Swift Hall, a crime that remains unsolved. While material in this collection spans the years 1883-1991, the bulk of material dates from 1974-1991, and includes correspondence, notes, manuscripts and reprints of published writings.

Abstract

Information on Use Access Series V: Restricted, contains a single file of class lists from 1990, listing student grades. This material is restricted until 2070. The remainder of the collection is open for research. Citation When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Culianu, Ioan P. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library Biographical Note Ioan Petru Culianu (1950-1991), historian of religions, essayist and fiction writer, served on the faculty of the University of Chicago's Divinity School. Mentored by Mircea Eliade, Culianu specialized in the history of Renaissance magic and mysticism. Born in Iai, Romania, Culianu was educated at the University of Bucharest and in Italy. He eventually earned three doctoral degrees, including a Ph.D. from the University of Paris in 1987. 3

He lived in France and the Netherlands before arriving at the University of Chicago as a visiting lecturer, and then became a professor in the Divinity School. Culianu wrote proficiently in six languages. Among his works are Eros and Magic in the Renaissance; Expriences de l'extase: extase, ascension et rcit visionnaire de l'hellnisme au Moyen Age; The Tree of Gnosis: Gnostic Mythology from Early Christianity to Modern Nihilism; and Out of the World: Otherwordly Journeys from Gilgamesh to Albert Einstein. Culianu also wrote fiction and essays, including political pieces opposing Romania's postRevolution regime. On May 21, 1991, Culianu was murdered in a restroom in the University of Chicago's Swift Hall. Neither the motive nor the killer's identity is known, though numerous theories have been advanced, many related to Culianu's criticism of Romanian politics. Scope Note This collection documents Culianu's activities as an historian of religions, including his relationships with colleagues and his mentor, Mircea Eliade. While material in this collection spans the years 1883-1991, the bulk of material dates from 1974-1991. This collection is organized into five series: Series I: Correspondence, 1975-1991, includes primarily incoming correspondence, with a few copies of outgoing letters. Most of the correspondence is professional in nature, and most correspondents are Culianu's colleagues at universities in the United States and Europe. A small amount of administrative correspondence is also included. Reprints of writings by correspondents accompany many of the letters. Additional correspondence is found in Series II and IV. Series II: Mircea Eliade, is a collection of material related to Culianu's mentor, a leading scholar of religious studies. Much of this material was compiled shortly after Eliade's death in 1986, and relates to Culianu's work as his literary executor. Material in this series spans the years 1971-1989, and includes drafts of writings about Eliade by Culianu and other colleagues; editorial and personal correspondence; reprints of Eliade's writings; and memorial material such as obituaries. Additional writings by Culianu and his colleagues, including some material related to Eliade, are found in Series III and IV. Series III: Writings by Culianu, contains several files of manuscripts, drafts and notes; these files are organized chronologically. Also included in this series are a set of reprints of Italian-language writings, mostly book reviews, published from 1974-1986. Following are chronological files of reprints of writings published from 1980-1991. Additional writings by Culianu are found in Series II. 4

Series IV: Writings by Others, consists of colleagues' manuscripts sent to Culianu for review, organized alphabetically by author; two files of student papers; and a a large collection of reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, filed chronologically. Material in this series spans the years 1883-1991, with the bulk of material dating from 1974-1990. Additional writings by Eliade's colleagues are found in Series III. Series V: Restricted, contains a single file of class lists from 1990, listing student grades. While much of the material in this collection is in English, there are significant portions in Italian, Romanian, German, French, Dutch and Greek. Related Resources The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections: http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/select.html Eliade, Mircea. Papers Subject Headings Culianu, Ioan P. Eliade, Mircea, 1907-1986 Magic -- History Occultism -- History Religions -- History

INVENTORY Series I: Correspondence, 1975-1991

Box 1 Folder 2 Box 1 Folder 3

Anati, E. Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Belayche, Nicole Bianchi, Ugo 5

Box 1 Folder 4 Box 1

Folder 5

Box 1 Folder 6 Box 1 Folder 7

Caprettini, Ave Appiano Casadio, Giovanni Chitimia, Silvia Conio, Caterina Cosi, D.M. Debus, Allen G. Duerr, Hans Peter Encyclopedia of Religion Gasparro, Giulia Sfameni Girardot, Norman Hani, Jean Idel, Moshe International Association for Coptic Studies Kippenberg, Hans G. Lambardi, Noemi

Box 1 Folder 8

Box 1 Folder 9

Box 1 Folder 10 Box 1 Folder 11

Box 1 Folder 12 Box 1 Folder 13

Box 1 Folder 14 Box 1 Folder 15

Box 1 Folder 16 Box 1 Folder 17

Box 1 Folder 18

Box 1 Folder 19

Box 1 Folder 20

Box 1 Folder 21

Lincoln, Bruce Loibl, Elizabeth Lungu, Alexandru McGinn, Bernard Meslin, Michel Metcalf, Franz Aubrey Momigliano, Arnoldo Nicolescu, M. Basarab Oisteanu, Andrei Os, H.W. van Quispel, Gilles Pezzali, Amalia Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Ronner, Didi Rusconi, Roberto Sabbatucci, Dario 7

Box 1 Folder 22 Box 1 Folder 23

Box 1 Folder 24 Box 1 Folder 25

Box 1 Folder 26 Box 1 Folder 27

Box 1 Folder 28

Box 1 Folder 29

Box 1 Folder 30 Box 1 Folder 31

Box 1 Folder 32 Box 1 Folder 33

Box 1 Folder 34 Box 1 Folder 35

Box 1 Folder 36 Box 1 Folder 37

Scarpi, Paolo Segal, Alan F. imanian, Ara Alexandra Stoichita, Victor Stroumsa, Gedaliahu G. Sullivan, Lawrence E. Tanase, V. Todericiu, D. Versnel, H.S. Unidentified

Box 1 Folder 38

Box 1 Folder 39

Box 1 Folder 40 Box 1 Folder 41

Box 1 Folder 42 Box 1 Folder 43

Box 1 Folder 44

Box 2 Folder 1-2

Series II: Mircea Eliade

Drafts of writings by Culianu, circa 1981-1986 Editorial and personal correspondence, 1986-1989 Drafts of writings about Eliade, undated Reprints of writings by Eliade, 1971-1985

Box 2 Folder 6 Box 2 Folder 7

Box 2 Folder 8

Box 3 Folder 1-3

Reprints and memorial material, 1977-1986 Reprints, memorial material and correspondence, 1981-1987

Series III: Writings by Culianu

Box 3 Folder 5-6

Notes, 1976 "Experiences de l'extase et symbols de l'ascension de l'Hellnisme l'Islam," doctoral thesis, 1979-1980 Notes and correspondence, circa 1982 Notes, circa 1983 Notebook, circa 1983 Notes and photocopied texts, circa 1983 Notebook and draft of review, circa 1985 Notes, research material and fellowship application, circa 1985 Notes, circa 1985-1990 "Dr Mayow's Mousetrap," draft, 1986 Drafts and lecture material, circa 1986 "Against the Law," Nathaniel Colver Lecture, University of Chicago Divinity School, lecture notes and broadside, 1987

Box 3 Folder 7

Box 3 Folder 8 Box 4 Folder 1

Box 4 Folder 2 Box 4 Folder 3

Box 4 Folder 4 Box 4 Folder 5

Box 4 Folder 6 Box 4 Folder 7

Box 4 Folder 8

Box 4 Folder 9

Box 4 Folder 10 Box 4 Folder 11

"Enigma Crestinismului," manuscripts, undated Notes, undated Notebook, undated Reprints in Italian, 1974-1982 Reprints in Italian, 1975-1986 Reprints, 1980-1990 Reprints, 1984-1991

Box 4 Folder 12

Box 5 Folder 1-3

Box 5 Folder 4-11 Box 6 Folder 1-11

Series IV: Writings by Others

Faivre, Antoine, manuscript and correspondence, 1985 Girardot, Norman J. "'Dissent from the Classical'": Mircea Eliade, the History of Religions, and the Study of Chinese Religions," manuscripts, undated Gruenwald, Ithamar, "Magic and Its Study as a Cultural Factor," manuscripts, undated Ktkou, S.C., "Le Developpement ou la Novelle Tour de Babel," manuscript, undated Kippenberg, hans G., proofs, undated Manolesco, Ionela, manuscripts, 1991 McGinn, Bernard, "God as Eros: Reflections on Cosmic Love in the Christian Tradition," manuscript and correspondence, 1991

Box 6 Folder 14 Box 7 Folder 1

Box 7 Folder 2 Box 7 Folder 3

Box 7 Folder 4

Box 7 Folder 5-8

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Box 7 Folder 9

Ricketts, Mac Linscott, "The Sacred Trickster of the North American Indians," manuscript, undated Tirosh-Rothschild, Hava manuscripts and correspondence, 1990 Waida, Manabu, "The Religion of the Japanese," undated Witte, H.A., "Les religions de l'Afrique occidentale," manuscripts, 1987 Unidentified author, "Korte Grammaticea van het Sahidische Koptisch," manuscript, undated Unidentified author, "Meso-American Religions: Cities and Symbols," manuscript, undated Student papers, 1988-1991 Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, 1883-1967 Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, 1968-1974 Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, 1975-1977 Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, 1977-1978 Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, 1979-1980 Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, 1980-1981 Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, 1982-1983 Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, 1983-1984 11

Box 7 Folder 10 Box 8 Folder 1

Box 8 Folder 2

Box 8 Folder 3

Box 8 Folder 4-5 Box 8 Folder 6-7 Box 9 Folder 1-7

Box 10 Folder 1-6 Box 11 Folder 1-6 Box 12 Folder 1-7

Box 13 Folder 1-6 Box 14 Folder 1-7 Box 15 Folder 1-7

Box 16 Folder 1-6 Box 17 Folder 1-8

Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, 1985-1986 Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, 1987-1990 Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, 1988-1990 Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, undated Reprints, periodicals and photocopied texts, undated

Box 18 Folder 1-6 Box 19 Folder 1-7

Box 20 Folder 1-5

Series V: Restricted
Box 20 Folder 6

Class lists, 1990

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