Ioan Petru Culianu
Ioan Petru Culianu (born January 5, 1950 in Iași , Romania; † May 21, 1991 in Chicago ) was a Romanian religious scholar , cultural historian , philosopher and essayist .
His research focused on the history of gnosis , occultism and magic in the Renaissance .
Life
Culianu was born in Iași, Romania. He first studied at the University of Bucharest and then applied for political asylum during a study visit to Perugia . He completed his studies in Milan at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore . After brief stays in France and the Netherlands, he left Europe forever to settle in Chicago. He received a professorship in Chicago. With a dissertation on the subject of Recherches sur les dualismes d'Occident. Analyzing de leurs principaux mythes , he received his doctorate in philosophy from the Sorbonne in Paris with the historian of religion Pierre Meslin.
A second area of interest Culianu was the history and politics of Romania in the 20th century. So he castigated not only the Securitate and their successors, but also the Iron Guard as an ultra-nationalist, anti-Semitic and fascist organization and demanded an investigation into the genocide of the Jews in Romania.
In Chicago, Culianu was promoted by Mircea Eliade , who had taught at the university since 1956 , with whom he published a handbook on the history of religion. He was considered the designated successor to the Eliades chair.
Culianu was shot dead in the back of the head on May 21, 1991 after a lecture in a university toilet. Members of the Romanian secret service were suspected. At the same time, the FBI was investigating occult organizations. The murder has not yet been solved.
Fonts (selection)
Culianu was the co-editor of a dictionary of religious history that has been translated into many languages.
- With Mircea Eliade, Hillary S. Wiesner: The Eliade Guide to World Religions. San Francisco 1991, ISBN 0-06-062145-1 .
- French: Dictionnaire des Religions. Paris 1990, ISBN 2-259-02030-5 .
- German: Handbook of Religions. Artemis & Winkler, Zurich / Munich 1991, ISBN 3-7608-1048-9 .
- as Suhrkamp paperback: Frankfurt a. M. 2003, ISBN 3-518-38886-X .
- Out of this World: Otherworldly Journeys from Gilgamesh to Albert Einstein . New York 2001, ISBN 1-57062-650-2 .
- Psychanodia: A Survey of the Evidence Concerning the Ascension of the Soul and Its Relevance. Brill Academic, Leiden 1984, ISBN 90-04-06903-8 .
- Eros and Magic in the Renaissance. Frankfurt a. M. and Leipzig 2001, ISBN 3-458-17083-9 .
literature
- Umberto Eco : Murder in Chicago. In: The New York Review of Books. April 10, 1997.
- Ted Anton: The murder of Professor Culianu: reconstruction of a crime. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1999, ISBN 3-458-16943-1 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Ioan Petru Culianu in the catalog of the German National Library
- Ted Anton: Eros, Magic, and the Death of Professor Culianu. In: The Washington Post. 1996.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Culianu, Ioan Petru |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Romanian religious scholar, cultural historian, philosopher and essayist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 5th January 1950 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Iași , Romania |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 21, 1991 |
| Place of death | Chicago |