Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy letters to WIlliam Hubben

Collection

Identifier: MSS 0099-F0919

Staff Only

Content Description

Social philosopher Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy wrote to Quaker educator William Hubben in response to Hubben's letters and the gift of his book.

Prompted by recent letters from Hubben, Rosenstock-Huessy remarked on the difficulty of getting booksellers to offer his publications in the United States. Enclosed with this first letter were copies of a catalog which listed Rosenstock-Huessy's publications and contained excerpts from several of those publications. Rosenstock-Huessy hoped that Hubben might distribute the catalogs.

In Rosenstock-Huessy's second letter, dated October 10, 1962, he thanked Hubben for a copy of a book by Hubben, possibly Four Prophets of Our Destiny: Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Kafka, since Rosenstock-Huessy continued his letter by discussing his views of Kafka and Nietzsche.

Dates

Creation: 1961 May 27 - 1962 October 10

Creator

Rosenstock-Huessy, Eugen, 1888-1973 (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, http://library.udel.edu/spec/askspec/

Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy (1888-1973)

Social philosopher and educator Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy (1888-1973), immigrated to the United States in 1933 and briefly taught at Harvard University. In 1935 he became professor of social philosophy at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he retired in 1957, as Professor Emeritus.

Rosenstock-Huessy received his doctorate in law from the University of Heidelberg in 1909, at the age of 21. Prior to World War I, he taught the history of law and constitutional law at the University of Leipzig. During the war he served in the army, with part of his tour of duty at Verdun.

Following the war, Rosenstock-Huessy left teaching to work at the Daimler Auto Company as an editor. He also started the Patmos Publishing House, which in 1924, published his Practical Knowledge of the Soul. This volume outlined Rosenstock-Huessy's new method for the social sciences (later named "metanomics") which is based on language, the spoken word, and his "grammatical approach."

Rosenstock-Huessy's I Am an Impure Thinker, which was published by Argo Press in 1970, includes an introduction by W. H. Auden, who was influenced by Rosenstock-Huessy's work. Judaism despite Christianity; the letters on Christianity and Judaism between Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy and Franz Rosenzweig, published by the University of Alabama Press in 1969, has been considered by scholars of religion as an important work in the study of encounters between Christianity and Judaism.

"Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy." Contemporary Authors Online. http://galenet.galegroup.com (accessed June 2012).

Guide to the Papers of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, 1870 – 2001 (MS-522). Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College. http://ead.dartmouth.edu/html/ms522.html (accessed June 2012).

William Hubben (1895-1974)

Prominent Quaker educator William Hubben (1895-1974) was a speaker, the editor of both Friends Intelligencer and Friends Journal, as well as the author of books and articles in the fields of religion and literature.

Hubben's book, Four Prophets of Our Destiny: Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Kafka, was first publlished by Macmillan in 1952, but the work has been revised and editions continued to be printed through 1997.

William Hubben immigrated to the United States in the 1930s and in 1935 was named director of religious interests at George School. He also taught German at William Penn Charter School from 1963 to 1973. Penn Charter School's Hubben Lecture is presented annually in honor of William Hubben.

William Hubben's autobiography, Exiled Pilgrim, was published by Macmillan in 1943.

William Penn Charter School. Distinguished Speakers & Artists Series. http://www.penncharter.com/page.cfm?p=1404 (accessed June 2012).William Hubben. WorldCat search. http://udel.worldcat.org/search (accessed June 2012).

Extent

4 item (41 pages)

Additional Description

Abstract

Harvard professor and social philosopher Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy (1888-1973) corresponded with the prominent Quaker editor William Hubben (1895-1974) about availability of his books and other matters in these two letters.