The University of Chicago Library > Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Marshall G. S. Hodgson Papers 1940-1971
© 2010 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Hodgson, Marshall G. S. Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1940-1971 |
| Size: | 8 linear feet (16 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | Marshall Goodwin Simms Hodgson (1922-1968) was a professor of Islamic Studies and Chairman of the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. The Marshall G.S. Hodgson Papers contain correspondence, teaching materials, research notes, and writings, primarily related to his professional life and scholarly work. |
Series V contains student evaluations, restricted for 80 years.
The remainder of the collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Hodgson, Marshall G. S. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
Marshall Goodwin Simms Hodgson (1922-1968) was a professor of Islamic Studies and Chairman of the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago during the 1950s and 1960s.
Hodgson's tenure at the University overlapped with the restructuring of the core "civilizations" courses for undergraduates. During the 1950s the sequence was expanded to include India, China, and Islam. This integrated approach provided an important intellectual background for Hodgson's own work; so too did his involvement with the Committee on Social Thought, which brought him into contact with important historians, anthropologists, and sociologists, notably John Ulric Nef, Mircea Eliade, Robert Redfield, and Edward Shils.
As an Islamic scholar, Hodgson rejected the Eurocentrism of most historical study. He argued that Europe's historical divergence occurred not during Renaissance, but much later, during the scientific revolutions of the seventeenth century. His efforts to locate the origins of modernity in a global context led to his interest in theories of world history. He is known primarily for his Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization (1975, 1977) and The Secret Order of Assassins: The Struggle of the Early Nizârî Ismâî'lîs Against the Islamic World (1955). The former was revised by university colleague Reuben W. Smith and published after Hodgson's death. Both books are still considered major contributions to the field. In these works Hodgson broke with the dominant historiographical narrative of Islam, focusing on piety rather than on political or dynastic history. He was concerned with the way Islamic philosophers and historians used Qur'anic teachings to approach the problems and ideals of their contemporary societies.
Hodgson was a practicing Quaker who attended the 57th Street Friends Meeting. His Quakerism informed his academic work and his political views. Hodgson was interested in the role of individual conscience and sensibility in history. He downplayed the idea that war and violence accounted for Islam's initial spread, and he supported anti-Vietnam pacifism and draft resistance. As a scholar who paid particular attention to terminology and the relationship between language and the perception of reality, he sought to distance himself from the oversimplified umbrella of "radical politics." Hodgson was also a strict vegetarian described as "ascetic."
Hodgson had three children with his wife, Phyllis, also an active member of the Hyde Park community.
The Marshall Hodgson Papers cover the period between1940-1971 and are organized into five series:
Series I: University of Chicago, contains correspondence, teaching materials, and copies of papers delivered during Hodgson's tenure as Chairman of the Committee on Social Thought and Professor of Islamic Studies and History at the University of Chicago. It covers the period 1948-1968.
Series II: Professional, contains correspondence and papers relating to Hodgson's academic work beyond the University of Chicago. It contains correspondence with colleagues from other institutions. It also includes notes for, and copies of, papers delivered at venues outside the university. This series spans 1946 through the 1960s.
Series III: Research, contains research material compiled by Hodgson between 1940 and 1948. These are primarily detailed notes and commentary on secondary sources, many folders also containing correspondence on the subject or author in question. Some notes are written on the back of unrelated personal correspondence.
Series IV: Writings and Publications, contains drafts and offprints of articles and books by Hodgson. It includes book reviews and correspondence with publishers. This series contains notes by Roy Benbee for a paper on Marshall Hodgson. Material in this series spans 1940-1968.
Series V: Restricted, contains student evaluations.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/select.html
University of Chicago. John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought. Records
Series I: University of Chicago |
This series contains correspondence, teaching materials, and copies of papers delivered during Hodsgon's tenure as Chairman of the Committee on Social Thought and Professor of Islamic Studies and History at the University of Chicago. It covers the period 1948-1968.
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Committee on Social Thought and St. John's College, Oxford, lists of the Great Books, 1943, 1959 |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | History and anthropology, syllabi, 1950s-1960s |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | "Inter-regional Relationships and Comparisons" seminar, notes and syllabus, 1957 |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | "Comparative Civilizations," seminar, notes and syllabus, 1957-1964 |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | "Introduction to Islamic Civilization," syllabus, 1958 |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Committee on Social Thought, seminar schedule, 1960 |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Hourani, seminar notes, 1962 |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | "The Muslim Religion," lecture notes, 1963 |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | "Methods of Civilization Studies," course outline, 1965 |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | "The Qur'an," lecture notes, 1965 |
| Box 1 Folder 11 | "Formal Teachings," lecture notes, 1968 |
| Box 1 Folder 12 | "Sufism," lecture notes and exam, 1968 |
| Box 1 Folder 13 | "Shi'ism," lecture notes in English and German, undated |
| Box 1 Folder 14 | Students, correspondence, 1965 |
| Box 1 Folder 15 | "Orthodoxy and Dissent in Medieval Islam," paper for the Committee on Social Thought, 1948 |
| Box 1 Folder 16 | History of Religions conference, response to Charles Adams, 1965 |
| Box 1 Folder 17 | "Pre-modern Muslim Historians: Pitfalls and Opportunities in Presenting Them to Moderns," University of Chicago Radio lecture, 1966 |
| Box 1 Folder 18 | "The historian as Theologian," guest lecture for Henry Rago, 1967 |
| Box 1 Folder 19 | "Towards World Community" conference, program, 1968 |
| Box 1 Folder 20 | Middle Eastern Studies Fellowship, correspondence, 1956 |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | University administration, correspondence, 1960 |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Committee on Near Eastern Studies, correspondence, 1961-1965 |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | Committee on Southeast Asian Studies, correspondence, 1961-1967 |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | College grading policy, correspondence, 1962-1968 |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | History Department, correspondence, 1963-1967 |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | College curriculum, correspondence, 1966 |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | Hodgson, research expenses, 1966-1968 |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Middle Eastern Studies job search, correspondence, 1967-1968 |
Series II: Professional |
This series contains correspondence and papers relating to Hodgson's academic
beyond the University of Chicago. It contains correspondence with colleagues from other institutions. It also includes notes for, and copies of, papers delivered at venues outside the university. This series spans 1946 through the 1960s.
| Box 2 Folder 9 | Colleagues, names and addresses, 1946-1964 |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | W.A. Isanow, correspondence, 1949-1950 |
| Box 2 Folder 11 | W.A. Isanow on the Ismailis, notes, circa 1949-1950 |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | Quakerism and Islam, public talks, circa 1950s-1960s |
| Box 2 Folder 13 | Islamic history and the westernization of Turkey, correspondence, 1952-1963 |
| Box 2 Folder 14 | Gustav von Grunebaum, correspondence, 1957-1965 |
| Box 2 Folder 15 | McGill University Institute of Islamic Studies, report, 1959 |
| Box 2 Folder 16 | Colleagues, postcards, 1960, undated |
| Box 2 Folder 17 | Colleagues, names and institutional affiliations, 1960-1963 |
| Box 2 Folder 18 | Colleagues, list of those sent articles, circa 1960s |
| Box 2 Folder 19 | American Association of Middle Eastern Studies Lecture Series, correspondence, 1962-1964 |
| Box 2 Folder 20 | Pratt Institute, correspondence, 1964 |
| Box 3 Folder 1-3 | "History 187," at Harvard University, correspondence and lecture
|
| Box 3 Folder 4 | International Congress of Orientalists, correspondence, 1966 |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | Colleagues, correspondence, 1966-1967 |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | Westernization, correspondence, 1967 |
Series III: Research |
This series contains research material compiled by Hodgson. These are primarily detailed notes and commentary on secondary sources, many folders also containing correspondence on the subject or author in question. Some notes are written on the back of unrelated personal correspondence. This series covers the period between 1940 and 1971. It is divided into four topical subseries:
Subseries 1: Islamic Studies, contains notes, commentary, and correspondence on Islamic history, philosophy, religion, and culture.
Subseries 2: Religion, contains notes, commentary, and correspondence on world religions and the philosophy of religion.
Subseries 3: History and Politics, contains notes, commentary, and correspondence on historical method, historical periods, particular regions, and problems of politics.
Subseries 4: Philosophy, Language, and Literature, contains notes, commentary, and correspondence on theories of language and the text. Of particular interest is Hodgson's correspondence with Wilfred Smith on translation, and his notes and outlines for a science fiction novel, "Valley of Vision."
Subseries 5: Oversize, contains a map of Muslim population distribution.
Subseries 1: Islamic Studies |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | Islamic history and law, 1948-1963 |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | Ismaili assassins, 1949-1951 |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | Shi'ite heterodoxy, 1949-1960 |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | Non-Shi'a Muslim sects, 1949-1961 |
| Box 3 Folder 11 | Ismailia, Egypt, 1949-1962 |
| Box 3 Folder 12 | Islamic political thought, 1949-1962 |
| Box 3 Folder 13 | Life and times of Mohammed, 1949-1962 |
| Box 3 Folder 14 | Islamic philosophy, 1949-1962 |
| Box 3 Folder 15 | Later Islamic philosophers, 1949-1967 |
| Box 3 Folder 16 | Shi'ite Islam, circa 1949 |
| Box 3 Folder 17 | Popular piety, circa 1949 |
| Box 3 Folder 18 | Qarmathian sect, 1950-1961 |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Shi'ism, 1950-1963 |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | Guilds and chivalry, 1950-1966 |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | Saljuqid perios, circa 1951 |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | Buyid times, 1952-1953 |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Early Islamic states, 1952-1961 |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | Tabari's historical method, 1952-1968 |
| Box 4 Folder 7 | Shi'a histories, circa 1952 |
| Box 4 Folder 8 | Nasir-i Khusraw, circa 1953 |
| Box 4 Folder 9 | Mystic philosophy, 1954-1966 |
| Box 4 Folder 10 | Modern Islamic politics, 1955-1960 |
| Box 4 Folder 11 | Islamic historiography, 1955-1968 |
| Box 4 Folder 12 | Islamic art and architecture, 1957-1966 |
| Box 4 Folder 13 | Modernization in Islam, 1958 |
| Box 4 Folder 14 | Islam in America, circa 1950s |
| Box 4 Folder 15 | Tabari, circa 1950s |
| Box 4 Folder 16 | Shi'ite leader Bayan, circa 1950s |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Islam and science, 1960-1965 |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | Meccan calendar, 1961-1963 |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | Abbasid period, 1961-1967 |
| Box 5 Folder 4 | Batiniyyah, 1963 |
| Box 5 Folder 5 | Islamic institutions, 1963-1964 |
| Box 5 Folder 6 | Muslims in Russia, 1963-1967 |
| Box 5 Folder 7 | Mystics, 1966 |
| Box 5 Folder 8 | Gazzali, circa 1967 |
| Box 5 Folder 9 | Sufism, 1968 |
| Box 5 Folder 10 | Islam in West Africa, undated |
| Box 5 Folder 11 | Islam in Africa, undated |
Subseries 2: Religion |
| Box 5 Folder 12 | Life of Jesus, 1940-1963 |
| Box 5 Folder 13 | Quakerism, circa 1945-1966 |
| Box 5 Folder 14 | Nature of faith and history of religion, 1948-1966 |
| Box 5 Folder 15 | Heresy, 1950-1963 |
| Box 5 Folder 16 | Philosophy of religion, 1950-1968 |
| Box 5 Folder 17 | Quaker history, 1952 |
| Box 5 Folder 18 | Quakers, 1952-1958 |
| Box 5 Folder 19 | Christianity and Judaism, circa 1955 |
| Box 5 Folder 20 | Religion and philosophy, 1959-1968 |
| Box 6 Folder 1 | Islam and Christianity, circa 1950s-1960s |
| Box 6 Folder 2 | Alcohol and religious devotion, 1960-1965 |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | Christianity, circa 1963 |
| Box 6 Folder 4 | Worship and prayer, 1963-1967 |
| Box 6 Folder 5 | Unity in religious history, 1965 |
| Box 6 Folder 6 | History as theology, 1965-1967 |
| Box 6 Folder 7 | Judaism, circa 1964 |
| Box 6 Folder 8 | History of religions, 1966-1967 |
| Box 6 Folder 9 | Buddhism, 1967, undated |
Subseries 3: History and Politics |
| Box 6 Folder 10 | Theoretical approaches to history, circa 1940s |
| Box 6 Folder 11 | Historical method and purpose, 1947-1963 |
| Box 6 Folder 12 | "Wild historical theorizing," circa 1950 |
| Box 6 Folder 13 | Meaning of history, 1955-1957 |
| Box 6 Folder 14 | Theories of historical progress and synthesis, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 15 | History by field, circa 1950s-1960s |
| Box 6 Folder 16 | Chronology, circa 1971 |
| Box 6 Folder 17 | History of the human world, 1954-1955 |
| Box 6 Folder 18 | Regionality, 1955 |
| Box 6 Folder 19 | Inter-regional relations, 1955-1963 |
| Box 6 Folder 20 | Trans-regional history, 1957-1961 |
| Box 6 Folder 21 | World history and epic history, 1942-1949 |
| Box 6 Folder 22 | World history 1943-1959, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 23 | Distortions in world history, 1946-1955, undated |
| Box 6 Folder 24 | Structure of world history, circa 1960s |
| Box 6 Folder 25 | Gibbon, 1947 |
| Box 6 Folder 26 | Marx and theories of historical process, 1947-1962, undated |
| Box 7 Folder 1 | Toynbee, circa 1950s |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | Sorokin, circa 1955 |
| Box 7 Folder 3 | Herodotus and Thucydides, undated |
| Box 7 Folder 4 | East-West relations, 1955-1958 |
| Box 7 Folder 5 | Modernity and modernization, circa 1960s |
| Box 7 Folder 6 | Comparative cultures, undated |
| Box 7 Folder 7 | Prehistory, circa 1957 |
| Box 7 Folder 8 | Crusades, circa 1947 |
| Box 7 Folder 9 | Classical Mediterranean history, circa 1960s |
| Box 7 Folder 10 | Medieval West, circa 1949-1967 |
| Box 7 Folder 11 | Early modern West, circa 1965 |
| Box 7 Folder 12 | Early modern Europe, circa 1952-1965 |
| Box 7 Folder 13 | Ancien Regime and the Enlightenment, undated |
| Box 7 Folder 14 | The Occident, circa 1950s-1960s |
| Box 7 Folder 15 | Ancient Middle East, circa 1960s |
| Box 7 Folder 16 | Safavids, Mongols, Timurids, 1962, 1964 |
| Box 7 Folder 17 | Pre-Islamic Middle East, 1960-1964 |
| Box 7 Folder 18 | Pre-Islamic Arab World, circa 1961-1964 |
| Box 7 Folder 19 | Modern Middle East, 1950s |
| Box 7 Folder 20 | Spain, Iran, Turkistan, Egypt, Syria, circa 1952 |
| Box 7 Folder 21 | Israeli-Arab relations, 1958 |
| Box 7 Folder 22 | Iran, 1963 |
| Box 8 Folder 1 | Syria, circa 1951 |
| Box 8 Folder 2 | Saljuk Turks, circa 1950s |
| Box 8 Folder 3 | Ottoman Empire, 1955-1967 |
| Box 8 Folder 4 | Turkey and Turkish nationalism, 1958-1963 |
| Box 8 Folder 5 | Modern Egypt, 1949-1967 |
| Box 8 Folder 6 | Education in Egypt, circa 1958 |
| Box 8 Folder 7 | Russia, 1957 |
| Box 8 Folder 8 | Eastern Europe, 1966 |
| Box 8 Folder 9 | Delhi Sultanate, 1948-1967 |
| Box 8 Folder 10 | Modern India and Pakistan, 1958-1960 |
| Box 8 Folder 11 | Modern India, excluding Muslim India, circa 1950s |
| Box 8 Folder 12 | Non-Muslim India, circa 1940s-1950s |
| Box 8 Folder 13 | India, circa 1950s |
| Box 8 Folder 14 | Pakistan, undated |
| Box 8 Folder 15 | Raja Ram Kumar Book Depot, Lucknow, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 1 | China, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 2 | Japan, 1943 |
| Box 9 Folder 3 | Malaysia, 1960-1964 |
| Box 9 Folder 4 | Eastern history, undated |
| Box 9 Folder 5 | Africa, 1964 |
| Box 9 Folder 6 | Latin America, circa 1940s |
| Box 9 Folder 7 | America, 1943-1966 |
| Box 9 Folder 8 | Radical politics, 1968 |
| Box 9 Folder 9-10 | General, circa 1940s-1960s |
Subseries 4: Philosophy, Language, and Literature |
| Box 9 Folder 11 | Human nature, 1942-1964 |
| Box 9 Folder 12 | Epic history and verse, 1944-1955 |
| Box 9 Folder 13 | Arabic literature, 1947-1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 14 | Philosophy of education, 1947-1968 |
| Box 9 Folder 15 | Philosophy of society and anthropology, 1949-1961 |
| Box 9 Folder 16 | Philosophy, 1949-1967 |
| Box 10 Folder 1 | Persian and Turkish literature, 1952-1967 |
| Box 10 Folder 2 | Philosophy of health, 1953-1960 |
| Box 10 Folder 3 | Philosophy and relativity, 1959-1960 |
| Box 10 Folder 4-5 | Arabic language, circa 1950-1963, undated |
| Box 10 Folder 6 | Early Syrian texts, circa 1950s |
| Box 10 Folder 7 | Science fiction, "Valley of Vision" novel, 1950s-1960s |
| Box 10 Folder 8 | Publishing, circa 1950s-1960s |
| Box 10 Folder 9 | Editing and translating, 1950s-1960s |
| Box 10 Folder 10 | Truth and logic, 1961-1967 |
| Box 10 Folder 11 | Esperanto, 1961-1967 |
| Box 10 Folder 12 | Microcosmic myth, 1962-1967 |
| Box 10 Folder 13 | Rhetoric, 1967 |
| Box 10 Folder 14 | Philosophy of language, 1967 |
| Box 10 Folder 15 | Dozening and numerical systems, 1967-1971 |
| Box 10 Folder 16 | Literature, 1960s |
| Box 10 Folder 17 | Philosophy of art, 1960s |
| Box 10 Folder 18 | Teaching Arabic, 1960s
|
| Box 10 Folder 20 | Natural science, circa 1960s |
| Box 10 Folder 21 | Ethics, circa 1960s |
| Box 10 Folder 22 | Linguistic spelling reform, circa 1960s |
| Box 10 Folder 23 | Pascal, undated |
| Box 10 Folder 24 | Yoga, undated |
Subseries 5: Oversize |
| Box 16 | Distribution of Muslims by political area, undated |
Series IV: Writings and Publications |
This series contains drafts and offprints of articles and books by Hodgson. It includes book reviews and correspondence with publishers. In addition to his scholarly work, of note are his "Legacy Essays," which include "If Your Friend Turns Vegetarian" and "Dialogue for the Soul of an Ex-Nazi." This series contains notes by Roy Benbee for a paper on Marshall Hodgson. Material in this series spans 1940-1968.
| Box 11 Folder 1 | Pacifism and socialism, drafts, circa 1940s-1960s |
| Box 11 Folder 2 | "Historical Method" and "Approaches to Controversy," drafts, 1946-1957 |
| Box 11 Folder 3 | "Responsibilities of the Historical Profession," draft, 1954 |
| Box 11 Folder 4 | "Legacy Essays," drafts, circa 1950s |
| Box 11 Folder 5 | "The Role of Islam in World History," draft, circa 1950s |
| Box 11 Folder 6 | "Interregional Structure of World History," draft and outline, 1957-1964 |
| Box 11 Folder 7 | "A Non-Western Civilization Course in Liberal Education," offprint, 1959 |
| Box 11 Folder 8 | "Interrelations of Societies in History," draft and correspondence, 1961 |
| Box 11 Folder 9 | "Studies in Medieval Shi'a Islam," book proposal, 1961-1962 |
| Box 11 Folder 10 | "Al-Darazi and Hams in the Origin of the Druze Religion," draft, 1962 |
| Box 11 Folder 11 | "The Islamic Political Problem," draft, 1962-1963 |
| Box 11 Folder 12 | "On the Islamic Political Problem," draft, 1963 |
| Box 11 Folder 13 | "Interrelations of Societies in History," draft, 1963 |
| Box 11 Folder 14 | "Islam and Image," offprint, 1964 |
| Box 11 Folder 15 | "Mood Drugs in History," draft, 1966 |
| Box 12 Folder 1 | "Order of Assassins," drafts, circa 1950s-1960s |
| Box 12 Folder 2 | "Order of Assassins," correspondence with publishers, 1955-1965 |
| Box 12 Folder 3-13 | "Venture of Islam," chapter drafts, undated |
| Box 13 Folder 1-12 | "Venture of Islam," chapter drafts, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 1-8 | "Venture of Islam," chapter drafts, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 9-12 | "Unity of World History," draft, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 13 | "Impact of the Great Western Transmutation," undated |
| Box 14 Folder 14 | "Impact of the Great Western Transmutation," offprint, 1967 |
| Box 14 Folder 15 | "How Did Early Shi'a Become Sectarian?" draft and notes, undated |
| Box 14 Folder 16 | "Modernity and the Islamic Heritage," offprint, undated |
| Box 15 Folder 1 | Wheelock, "Nasser's New Egypt," book review, 1960 |
| Box 15 Folder 2 | Mardin, "Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought," book review, circa 1962 |
| Box 15 Folder 3-4 | Islamic studies, book reviews and correspondence, 1950-1967 |
| Box 15 Folder 5 | Saunders, "The Muslim World on the Eve of Europe's Expansion, book review, 1966-1967 |
| Box 15 Folder 6 | Islamic studies, article outlines, 1945-1963 |
| Box 15 Folder 7 | World history publications, correspondence, 1953-1955 |
| Box 15 Folder 8 | Studia Islamica, correspondence, 1957-1962 |
| Box 15 Folder 9 | "Islam and Image," correspondence, 1962-1963 |
| Box 15 Folder 10 | Encyclopedia of Islam, correspondence, 1959-1960 |
| Box 15 Folder 11 | "Islam in Modern Eurasia," correspondence, 1965-1968 |
| Box 15 Folder 12 | Islamic studies publications, correspondence, circa 1960s |
| Box 15 Folder 13 | New Grolier Encyclopedia, correspondence, circa 1960s |
| Box 15 Folder 14 | The Courier, copies, 1954, 1958 |
| Box 15 Folder 15 | Marshall Hodgson, notes and paper by Roy Benbee, 1968 |
Series V: Restricted |
This series contains student evaluations.
| Box 15 Folder 16 | Student evaluations, 1946-1967 |