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Reiner Schürmann papers

 Collection
Identifier: NA-0006-01

Scope and Content of Collection

These papers document the work of Reiner Schürmann, from notes and material compiled as a student at Centre d'études du Saulchoir (le Saulchoir), his lectures at the New School and manuscripts of his published writings, as well as correspondence with publishers and colleagues.

Dates

  • 1958 - 1993

Creator

Extent

6.5 Cubic Feet (5 boxes, 1 folder)

Language of Materials

Primarily in English and French.

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research use. Please contact archivist@newschool.edu for appointment.

Use Restrictions

To publish images of material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from the New School Archives. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu. Copyright in many of the unpublished materials in the Reiner Schürmann papers rests with the estate of Reiner Schürmann.

Biographical Note

Born to German parents in Amsterdam, Reiner Schürmann (1941-1993) served on the Philosophy Department faculty at the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research for nearly twenty years. Schürmann came to the United States in 1971 as a Dominican priest, having earned a degree in religious studies from Le Centre d'études du Saulchoir in France in 1969. He earned additional degrees in philosophy from La Sorbonne, including a doctorate in philosophy in 1981. Schürmann authored three major philosophical works: Maître Eckhart et la joie errante (1972); Le Principe d'anarchie, Heidegger et la question de l'agir (1982), and Des Hégémonies brisées, published posthumously in 1996. Les Origines, Schürmann's only work of literary fiction (awarded the Prix Broquette-Gonin by the Académie Française in 1977), has autobiographical elements, exploring paths to redemption from the guilt of being born German during World War II. Schürmann left the priesthood in 1976, around the time he came to the New School. Before the New School, he held teaching posts at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. and Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh. Former students remember Schürmann as a committed, demanding, and inspirational teacher, part of a European philosophical tradition that extended from Alfred Schutz to Hans Jonas and Hannah Arendt. Reiner Schürmann died of complications caused by AIDS on August 20, 1993 in New York City.

Sources:

Christopher P. Long, "Remembering Reiner Schürmann," online edition of Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal, November 3, 2015.

“Reiner Schürmann,” Wikipedia, last modified November 20, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiner_Schürmann.

Organization and Arrangement

Organized alphabetically by subject in six series: 1. General 2. Book publication 3. Course materials and notes 4. Lectures 5. Symposia and other programs 6. Writings

Custodial History

The collection was donated to The New School by Pierre Adler, Schürmann's literary executor, around 1994, and held by the Raymond Fogelman Library until 2012.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was transferred to the archives from The New School's Raymond Fogelman Library in 2012.

Related Materials

Three volumes of Reiner Schürmann's lectures are available for in-library use in The New School's List Center Library, and also available on microfilm.

Separated Materials

Several books owned and annotated by Schürmann have been transferred to The New School Special Collections. For information and access contact speccoll@newschool.edu.

Processing Information

The processing of this collection benefitted from notes shared by researcher Francesco Guercio.

Electronic files have not yet been processed. Please contact archivist@newschool.edu for further details.

Title
Guide to the Reiner Schürmann papers
Status
Completed
Author
New School Archives and Special Collections Staff
Date
March 7, 2017
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • August 25, 2021: New School Archives staff added a new scope and content note to explain the contents of one of the folders.