Ioan P. Culianu

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Ioan Petru Culianu (Couliano) (January 5, 1950–May 21, 1991) was a Romanian-born professor of divinity at the University of Chicago and an expert in gnosticism and Mediaeval magic.

Born in Iaşi, he studied in Bucharest, then traveled to Italy, France and the Netherlands, before he finally became a professor at the University of Chicago. Having completed three doctorates and being proficient in six languages, Culianu specialized in Renaissance magic and mysticism (becoming a disciple of Mircea Eliade's ideas), but he also wrote fiction and political articles.

Contents 1 His murder 2 References 3 Bibliography 3.1 Prose 3.2 Fiction 4 External links

[edit] His murder

He was murdered in the bathroom of the Divinity School, Swift Hall, of the University of Chicago. The identity of the killer is still not known and nor is the reason. There has been speculation that it was from the order of Nicolae Ceauşescu, due to his political articles, but the murder happened a year and a half after the fall of Communism in Romania and Ceauşescu's death. Before being killed he had published a number of political articles and interviews that condemned the Ion Iliescu regime. Consistent theories link his murder with the Romanian Intelligence (files missing from his security surveillance in Romania), that the Romanian Intelligence Service assassinated him due to his political insight and comments that would have made him the most prominent dissident figure in a time where post-communist administrative structures were trying to cope with the new times. There are also other theories which claim that the murder was committed by some occult organization, upset by his books on magic, but there is no clue to indicate any potential assassin.

[edit] References

A biography and an analysis of his death was published by Ted Anton and called "Eros, Magic, and the Death of Professor Culianu", alluding to Culianu's most influential work, "Eros and Magic in the Renaissance". See also Sorin Antohi (ed.), Religion, Fiction, and History. Essays in Memory of Ioan Petru Culianu.Volumes I-II, Bucureşti, Nemira, 2001; and Sorin Antohi (coordinator), Ioan Petru Culianu. Omul si opera, Iaşi, Polirom, 2003.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Prose

• Mircea Eliade, Assisi, Cittadella Editrice, 1978
• Iter in Silvis: Saggi scelti sulla gnosi e altri studi, Gnosis, no. 2,Messina, EDAS,1981
• Religione e accrescimento del potere', in G. Romanato, M. Lombardo, I.P. Culianu, Religione e potere, Torino, Marietti, 1981
• Psychanodia: A Survey of the Evidence Concerning the Ascension of the Soul and Its Relevance, Leiden, Brill, 1983
• Eros et magie a la Renaissance. 1484, Paris, Flammarion, 1984
• Experiences de l'extase. Extase, ascension et recit visionnaire de l'hellenisme au Moyen-Age, Paris, Payot, 1984
• Gnosticismo e pensiero moderno: Hans Jonas, Roma, L'Erma di Bretschneider, 1985
• Empeiries tes ekstasis: Extasi, anabasi kai oraseis apo ton Hellenismo mechri ton Mesaiona, Athena, Hadjinikoli, 1986
• Experienze dell'estasi dall'Ellenismo al Medioevo, Bari, Laterza, 1986
• Recherches sur les dualismes d'Occident: Analyse de leurs principaux mythes, Lille-Theses, Lille, 1986
• Eros and Magic in the Renaissance, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1987
• Eros e magia nel Rinascimento: La congiunzione astrologica del 1484, Milano, Il Saggiatore - A. Mondadori, 1987
• I miti dei dualismi occidentali, Milano, Jaca Book, 1989
• (Eliade/Culianu): Dictionnaire des Religions. Avec la collaboration de H.S. Wiesner. Paris, Plon, 1990, 1992(2)
• Les Gnoses dualistes d'Occident: Histoire et mythes, Paris, Plon, 1990
• Handbuch der Religionen, Zurich und Munchen, Artemis Winkler Verlag, 1991; Suhrkamp Taschenbuch, 1995
• Out of this World: Otherworldly Journeys from Gilgamesh to Albert Einstein, Boston, Shambhala, 1991

• The Eliade Guide to World Religions, San Francisco, HarperSanFrancisco, 1991. With M. Eliade and in association with H.S. Wiesner
• I viaggi dell'anima, Milano, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1991
• The Tree of Gnosis : Gnostic Mythology from Early Christianity to Modern Nihilism, San Francisco, HarperCollins, 1992
• Diccionario de las religiones Barcelona, Paidos Orientalia, 1993
• Dicţionarul religiilor, Bucureşti, Humanitas, 1993, 1996(2) (The Dictionary of Religions has also been published in Japanese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Bulgarian and Czech translations)
• Mas alla de este mundo, Barcelona, Paidos Orientalia, 1993
• Călătorii in lumea de dincolo, Bucureşti, Nemira, 1994, 1999(2); Iaşi, Polirom, 2003(3)
• Eros şi magie în Renaştere. 1484, Bucureşti, Nemira, 1994, 1999(2); Iaşi, Polirom, 2003(3)
• Experiences del extasis, Barcelona, Paidos Orientalia, 1994
• Gnozele dualiste ale Occidentului. Istorie si mituri, Bucureşti, Nemira, 1995; Iaşi, Polirom, 2002(2)
• Jenseits dieser Welt, Munchen, Eugen Diederichs Verlag, 1995
• Mircea Eliade, Bucureşti, Nemira, 1995, 1998(2); Iaşi, Polirom, 2004(3)
• Religie şi putere, Bucureşti, Nemira, 1996
• Psihanodia, Bucureşti, Nemira, 1997
• Experienţe ale extazului, Bucureşti, Nemira, 1997; Iaşi, Polirom, 2004(2)
• Arborele gnozei. Mitologia gnostică de la creştinismul timpuriu la nihilismul modern, Bucureşti, Nemira, 1999
• Păcatul împotriva spiritului. Scrieri politice, Bucureşti, Nemira, 1999
• Eros y magia en el Renacimiento. 1484, Madrid, Ediciones Siruela, 1999
• Studii româneşti I. Fantasmele nihilismului. Secretul Doctorului Eliade, Bucureşti, Nemira, 2000
• The HarperCollins Concise Guide to World Religions, San Francisco, HarperSanFrancisco, 2000
• Jocurile minţii. Istoria ideilor, teoria culturii, epistemologie, Iaşi, Polirom, 2002
• Iocari serio. Ştiinţa şi arta în gîndirea Renaşterii, Iaşi, Polirom, 2003
• Cult, magie, erezii. Articole din enciclopedii ale religiilor, Iaşi, Polirom, 2003
• Dialoguri intrerupte. Corespondenţa Mircea Eliade - Ioan Petru Culianu

[edit] Fiction

• La collezione di smeraldi, racconti, Milano, Jaca Book, 1989
• Hesperus, roman, Bucureşti, Univers, 1992; Bucuresti, Nemira, 1998(2); Iaşi, Polirom, 2003(3)
• Pergamentul diafan, povestiri, Bucureşti, Nemira, 1994
• Pergamentul diafan. Ultimele povestiri, Bucureşti, Nemira, 1996(2); Iaşi, Polirom, 2002(3)
• Arta fugii, povestiri, Iaşi, Polirom, 2002
• Jocul de smarald, roman, Iaşi, Polirom, 2005

[edit] External links

• Gnozele dualiste ale Occidentului
• Magic & Images / Images & Magic essay by David Levi Strauss: "Couliano believes that the shift from a society dominated by magic to one dominated by science is primarily “a change in the imaginary...” "