DOCSLIB.ORG

Joseph Leon), 1909-1986

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Joseph Leon), 1909-1986 Ms Coll\Blau Blau, Joseph L. (Joseph Leon), 1909-1986. Papers, 1912-1987. 15 linear ft. (ca. 12,000 items in 36 boxes). Biography: Columbia, A.B., 1931; M.A., 1933; Ph.D., 1944. Professor of religion and philosophy at Columbia University. Member of Fraternity of Leaders of the American Ethical Union; author and scholar in field of American philosophical and religious thought. Summary: Correspondence, manuscripts, course materials, research notes, minutes, clippings, reprints of articles, as well as 25 inscribed or annotated books. The cataloged correspondence includes letters from Alfred Kazin, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Alfred Knopf. The collection offers a comprehensive view of Dr. Blau's professional and intellectual interests during his 50 years of association with Columbia University, as well as an indication of his varied professional involvement with the American Council for Learned Societies, American Society for the study of Religion, Association for Jewish Studies, and the Society for Ethical Culture/American Ethical Union. 1990 Addition: Correspondence with publishers, colleagues, friends, and family; articles, drafts of book manuscripts, addresses, and talks; Columbia course files, research files, and printed materials; and personal files of Blau and of his father Rabbi Joel Blau, 1912-1987. Among the cataloged correspondence added are 15 letters from Salo Baron and 1 letter from Albert Einstein to David Rothstein. Organization: Box 1-2: Cataloged and arranged correspondence; Boxes 3-14: Blau's writings; Boxes 15-17: Course materials; Boxes 18-22: Research materials; Boxes 23-24: Columbia activities; Boxes 25-26: Professional activities; Box 26: Miscellaneous; Boxes 27-29: Publicity; Boxes 30-36: Printed materials. Donor: Gift of Mrs Eleanor Blau, 1989 & 1990. Finding aids: Contents list, 13p. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Librarian for Rare Books and Manuscripts. Additional papers held at: Archives of the Ethical Culture Movement. New York Society for Ethical Culture, New York, NY. Boxes 11-12, Unpublished manuscripts, closed to all use except with the written permission of Rachel Blau Duplessis or Judith Blau Katz. 1. Baron, Salo Wittmayer, 1895- 2. Blanshard, Paul, 1892- 3. Boorstin, Daniel J. (Daniel Joseph), 1914- 4. Buck, Pearl S. (Pearl Sydenstricker), 1892-1973. 5. Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955. 6. Kazin, Alfred, 1915- 7. Knopf, Alfred A., 1892-1984. 8. Niebuhr, Reinhold, 1892-1971. 9. Rothstein, David, 1942- 10. Americal Council for Learned Societies. 11. American Ethical Union. Fraternityof Leaders. 12. American Society for the Study of Religion. 13. Association for Jewish Studies. 14. Columbia University- Faculty. 15. Academies and learned societies. 16. Ethical culture movement. 17. Judaism-History. 18. Judaism and philosophy. 19. Learned institutions and societies. 20. Philosophy. 21. Philosophy, Jewish. 22. Reform Judaism. 23. Religion. 24. Religion- -Philosophy. 25. Addresses. 26. Announcements. 27. Articles. 28. Drafts (literary). 29. Essays. 30. Examinations. 31. Fiction. 32. Financial documents and records. 33. Lectures. 34. Lists. 35. Manuscripts (literary). 36. Memoranda. 37. Minutes. 38. Notes. 39. Outlines. 40. Poems. 41. Programs. 42. Reports. 43. Reviews. 44. Scrapbooks. 45. Scripts. 46. Syllabi. 47. Theses. 48. Authors. 49. College teachers. 50. Consultants. 51. Editors. 52. Philosophers. 53. Scholars. ID:NYCR90-A0 Disk 2 PC - 7/89 HR- 1/93 PAPERS OF JOSEPH LEON BLAU COVERING THE PERIOD 1912-1987 Processed by Pat Cahill May 1989 Extent: 15. linear ft. (ca. 12,000 items in 36 boxes) The papers of Joseph Leon BJ.au (1909-1986), former professor of religion and philosophy at Columbia University and author and editor of numerous books on American thought and the historical development of Judaism, were given to the Library by his wife, Eleanor Weslock Blau in 1988. The collection consists of Dr. Blau's professional correspondence, writings, course materials and research notes as well as about 25 inscribed or annotated books which he kept in his office. To scholars of religion and philosophy and to historians of Columbia, it offers a comprehensive view of Dr. Blau's professional and intellectual interests during his 50 years of association with the University. Revised 12/30/92 BRC BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Born in Brooklyn, New York on May 6, 1909, Dr. Blau received his elementary and high school education in the public schools of New York and New Jersey before entering Columbia. He was awarded his B.A. in 1931. Upon graduation he began teaching in New York's public schools; two years later he completed a thesis on John Biddle, the founder of English Unitarianism, and received an M.A. in English Literature from Columbia. In 1934 he was awarded a fellowship for work toward the Ph.D in Columbia's Philosophy Department. During the following years, Dr. Blau worked as an assistant to Prof. Herbert W. Schneider before completing and publishing his dissertation, The Christian Interpretation of the Cabala in the Renaissance in 1944. In 1944 Dr. Blau joined Columbia's philosophy department. In succeeding years, he taught courses in American intellectual history and the philosophy of religion. In 1962 after teaching for nearly twenty years in the Philosophy Department, he became a member of the Department of Religion. He served as chairman of this newly-created department from 1965 to 1968 and as director of graduate studies in religion from 1962 to 1974.. During these years Dr. Blau taught undergraduate and graduate courses and seminars and directed dissertations on a wide variety of subjects. He retired from active teaching in June 1977. During his years at Columbia Dr. Blau authored and edited several books in philosophy and religion including Social Theories of Jacksonian Democracy (1947); Cornerstones of Religious Freedom in America (1949; revised and enlarged ed., 1965); The Story of Jewish Philosophy (1962); and Modern Varieties of Judaism (1966). He is perhaps best known for his work Men and Movements in American Philosophy (1952) which was translated into six languages and became a standard textbook in universities throughout the world. In addition he wrote hundreds of essays, articles and book reviews for both popular and scholarly journals. While a member of Columbia's.faculty, Dr. Blau was associated with many professional learned organizations including the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Philosophic Association, the American Ethical Union and the American Jewish Historical Society. In addition he held several research fellowships and grants from both the University and outside institutions. On December 28, 1986 Dr. Blau died at his home in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. For further biographical information as well as a bibliography of Dr. Blau's writings, one may consult History, Religion, and Spiritual Democracy; Essays in Honor of Joseph L. Blau edited by Maurice Wohlgelernter (New York: Columbia University Press, 1980). 3 SCOPE AND CONTENTS The papers of Joseph Leon Blau record almost sixty years of his association with the University, spanning the years from 1929 when he was an undergraduate at the College until 1986, the year of his death, nine years after his formal retirement from teaching. The bulk of this material falls into the years after Dr. Blau joined the faculty in 1944. Specifically, the collection documents Dr. Blau's scholarly interests throughout the 1950s and 1960s most extensively. The collection consists both of Dr. Blau's office files in the religion department and personal files from his home. It includes much that pertains to his tenure as a member of the religion and philosophy departments, as well as material from his years as a student and from his associations with professional societies unaffiliated with Columbia. The collection includes correspondence, minutes, clippings, research notes, course materials and manuscripts, typescripts, and reprints of articles, essays and books. It is divided into nine series, namely: Cataloged Correspondence; Arranged Correspondence; Writings; Course Materials; Research Materials; Columbia Activities; Professional Activities; Publicity; and Printed Materials (as well as a folder of miscellaneous items). Descriptions of the contents of these series appear below. The collection offers a wealth of information to researchers in the fields of philosophy and religion. Its greatest strength is the amount and diversity of Blau's writings which it contains. Most of these writings are gathered together in the Writings Series, although Blau's mastery of the written word is also evident in the Correspondence Series--in particular, in his correspondence with former teachers such as Salo Baron and Herbert Schneider and with colleagues. The writings in this collection document Blau's thoughts on subjects both arcane and popular and enable one to track his development from the young man with a taste for poetry to the distinguished scholar of American philosophy and Judaism. Specifically, the manuscripts in various stages of revision reveal Blau thinking through new ideas, making unexpected connections, testing the borders between disciplines and, always and enthusiastically, beginning new projects. Above all the collection reveals that Blau's mind was encyclopedic, that he defined philosophy and religion broadly and then sought to become an expert on both. What this collection is less able to suggest is the Blau who again and again declared his love for teaching and who lectured on religion
Load more

Recommended publications
  • European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy, XI-1 | 2019 Pragmatism in the Third Reich 2
    European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy XI-1 | 2019 European Pragmatism Pragmatism in the Third Reich Heidegger and the Baumgarten Case Hans-Joachim Dahms Electronic version URL: http://journals.openedition.org/ejpap/1524 DOI: 10.4000/ejpap.1524 ISSN: 2036-4091 Publisher Associazione Pragma Electronic reference Hans-Joachim Dahms, « Pragmatism in the Third Reich », European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy [Online], XI-1 | 2019, Online since 19 July 2019, connection on 21 July 2019. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/ejpap/1524 ; DOI : 10.4000/ejpap.1524 This text was automatically generated on 21 July 2019. Author retains copyright and grants the European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Pragmatism in the Third Reich 1 Pragmatism in the Third Reich Heidegger and the Baumgarten Case Hans-Joachim Dahms AUTHOR'S NOTE I published some years ago an article covering briefly the current subject: Dahms (1987/1998: 299-303). In the meantime new literature appeared on the theme, especially Vogt 2002 and Hausmann 2003. Whereas Hausmann tackled the task from the viewpoint of American Studies in Germany, though adding a number of new sources, Vogts writes as a historian of philosophy without considering any archival files concerning the Baumgarten case. I will not only comment on these works, but also add some new sources from the Göttingen university archive and its library. I thank Prof. Robert P. Ericksen (Gig Harbour, Wa., USA) for valuable help in improving my English draft.
    [Show full text]
  • American Sympathizers with Italian Fascism A
    The Machine Has a Soul: American Sympathizers with Italian Fascism A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History By Catherine Susan Mary Hull, M.A. Washington, DC December 12, 2017 Copyright 2018 by Catherine Susan Mary Hull All Rights Reserved ii THE MACHINE HAS A SOUL: AMERICAN SYMPATHIZERS WITH ITALIAN FASCISM Catherine Susan Mary Hull, M.A. Thesis Advisor: Michael Kazin, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Americans across the political and cultural spectrum sympathized with Italian fascism in the interwar years. This dissertation demonstrates that American fascist sympathizers believed that Italy was coping better with the challenges of modernity than the United States. Fascist sympathizers argued that fascist squads revived older values of service and honor, even as Mussolini kept pace with a fast-moving society. They claimed that the corporate state was an up-to-date form of government, which protected Italians from the worst effects of the global depression. And, as the fascist state became increasingly totalitarian, they represented Italy as a place where men and women could transcend the grit and grind of modern life to find inner peace. American fascist sympathizers had various goals when they invoked Italy’s apparent successes in managing the challenges of modernity. First, they aimed to expose faults in their own society: the numbing effects of standardization; the erosion of higher ideals; the failure of government to protect Americans from the ravages of industrialization. Second, they suggested solutions to the United States’ problems: the reform of government to promote expertise in policymaking; and measures to create jobs and support the return to a simpler life.
    [Show full text]
  • Pragmatism in American Culture
    California State University, San Bernardino CSUSB ScholarWorks Theses Digitization Project John M. Pfau Library 1980 Pragmatism in American culture John Lugton Safford Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project Part of the Social History Commons Recommended Citation Safford, John Lugton, "Pragmatism in American culture" (1980). Theses Digitization Project. 100. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/100 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the John M. Pfau Library at CSUSB ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses Digitization Project by an authorized administrator of CSUSB ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. •y PRAGMATISM IN AMERICAN CULTURE A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State College, San Bernardino In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Special Major: History of Modern American Thought by John Lugton Safford June 1980 PRAGMATISM IN AMERICAN CULTURE A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State College, San Bernardino by John Lugton Safford June 1980 Approved by: 6/-7P- Chai rtiian ate abstract This is a master's thesis concerning the origins, development and infTuences of pragmatism in American culture. The term "pragmatism" as used here refers to a formal system of philosophy. It is primarily a work in the history of thought; thus putting a greater stress on the origins and influences of pragmatism than on the questions of truth and meaning. It begins with C. S. Peirce and William James, followed by a chapter on the reaction of their contemporary American philosophers, JosiahRoyce and George Santayana.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae
    CURRICULUM VITAE Leonard Harris, Ph.D. 765-496-3860 Office Purdue University 765-497-0961 Home Department of Philosophy 765-496-1616 Fax West Lafayette, IN 47907 [email protected] EDUCATION Ph.D., Philosophy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 5/74 M.A., Philosophy, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 8/70 B.A., English and Philosophy, Central State University, Wilberforce, OH, 8/69 FACULTY POSITIONS Professor, Purdue University, 1991- Professor, Morgan State University (MSU) 1989-1990; Associate Professor, 1985-1989; Assistant Professor, 1980-1985 Assistant Professor, University of the District of Columbia, DC, 1978-80 Assistant Professor, Livingston College, Rutgers University, NJ, 1974-78 Adjunct Professor: Oxford Centre for African Studies, Jesus College, Oxford University, UK, Summer Institute, 1990 [Interdisciplinary Memberships, Purdue University] Philosophy and Literature Ph.D. Program, Departments of Philosophy African American Studies and Research Center, Affiliate ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS Director, Philosophy and Literature Ph.D. Program, Purdue University, 2007- 2010 Director, African American Studies and Research Center, Purdue University, 1991-1997 Assistant Director, Special Services, Livingston College, Rutgers University, 1974-78 HONORARY APPOINTMENTS Department of Philosophy; Guest lecturer, The Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium (Spring 2020) University Distinguished Visiting Professor, William Paterson University, 2002-2003 Visiting Scholar, King's College, Cambridge University, UK, summer 1984 [Fellow] Harvard University,
    [Show full text]
  • DEEN – CURRICULUM VITAE [email protected] • 88 Commercial St., Manchester NH 03101
    PHILLIP DEEN – CURRICULUM VITAE [email protected] • 88 Commercial St., Manchester NH 03101 Areas of Specialization: Humor / Political Philosophy Areas of Competence: Applied Ethics / Aesthetics / History of American Philosophy TEACHING EXPERIENCE University of New Hampshire Senior Lecturer of Philosophy & Humanities (2012 – ) Wellesley College Visiting Assistant Professor (2007 – 2012) Gettysburg College Visiting Assistant Professor (2006 – 2007) St. Mary’s College of Maryland Visiting Assistant Professor (2005 – 2006) COURSES TAUGHT Political Philosophy Deliberative Democracy Liberalism(s) and Conservatism(s) Democracy Medieval Political Thought Inequality The Public Sphere Justice Social Theoretic Critique of Liberalism Law Ethics Advertising and Propaganda Introduction to Moral Philosophy Climate Ethics MacIntyre’s Virtue Ethics Environmental Ethics Science, Technology, and Society Ethics & Society Aesthetics Philosophy of Art Philosophy of Humor Philosophy of/through Film Philosophy of/through Literature History of Philosophy Ancient Greek Philosophy 19th C. Philosophy: Kant to Nietzsche American Philosophy: Puritans to Pragmatists Pragmatism: Peirce through Today Humanities Classical Greece Humanities I: Ancient Greece to Renaissance 20th Century Humanities, 1900-1945 Humanities Capstone: Creativity Humanities Capstone: Contemporary Issues Other Beginning Logic Introduction to Philosophy John Dewey’s Philosophy of Education PUBLICATIONS Books Unmodern Philosophy and Modern Philosophy by John Dewey. Edited and introduced by Phillip Deen. Carbondale: SIU Press (2012). - Reviewed in Choice (December 2012); European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy 4:2 (2012): 236-241; Essays in Philosophy 14:1 (2013): 77-82; Theory and Event 16:2 (2013); Slagmark: Tidsskrift for Idéhistorie 66 (2013): 242-245; Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 49:1 (Winter 2013): 122-125; Educational Theory 64:2 (2014): 195-203; Philosophy Now 102 (May/June 2014): 42-43.
    [Show full text]
  • Thoreau's a Week, Religion As Preservative Care: Opposing the Christian Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny, and a Religion of Subjugation
    Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE May 2014 THOREAU'S A WEEK, RELIGION AS PRESERVATIVE CARE: OPPOSING THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY, MANIFEST DESTINY, AND A RELIGION OF SUBJUGATION Robert Michael Ruehl Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Ruehl, Robert Michael, "THOREAU'S A WEEK, RELIGION AS PRESERVATIVE CARE: OPPOSING THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY, MANIFEST DESTINY, AND A RELIGION OF SUBJUGATION" (2014). Dissertations - ALL. 69. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/69 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT This dissertation argues for a rereading of Henry David Thoreau’s A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849) as “Transcendental scripture writing.” By placing his book in this genre, Thoreau’s religious thinking comes to the fore. His book becomes a contextualized pilgrimage addressing three levels of human existence in the religious realm: (1) where we have been and are now, (2) where we could be, and (3) how to reach that next, better self with more intimate, liberative relationships with others. As he addresses human limitations and his hope for better human and nonhuman relationships, Thoreau articulates a religion of “preservative care” that seeks to address past wrongs while nurturing sustained peace, which makes his outlook significant for the present. This vision of life filled with sustained peace, however, does not circumvent a serious reexamination of the violence that went into America’s founding.
    [Show full text]