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Popkin (Richard H.) Papers
MS.2005.006  
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Description
Richard H. Popkin was an influential historian of philosophy. His 1960 work "The History of Scepticism from Erasmus to Descartes" introduced many historians to a previously unrecognised influence on Western thought in the seventeenth century, the Pyrrhonian Scepticism of Sextus Empiricus. Popkin was also an internationally acclaimed scholar on Jewish and Christian millenarianism and messianism. The collection includes over six decades of Popkin’s academic papers and correspondence, as well as his library of sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth century rare books.
Background
Richard H. Popkin (December 27, 1923 – April 14, 2005) was a philosopher who specialized in the history of early modern anti-dogmatism and enlightenment philosophy. He was born in Manhattan to Louis and Zelda Popkin, who jointly ran a small public relations firm. Popkin earned his Bachelor's degree at Colombia University, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1950. During his career Popkin taught at Iowa State University, the University of Connecticut, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He served as the founding chair of the philosophy department at University of California, San Diego and twice as the Clark Library Professor at UCLA in 1981-82 and 1997-98. He was a visiting professor at UC Berkeley, Brandeis, Duke, Emory, and Tel Aviv universities, as well as Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York. Popkin was also the founding director of the International Archives of the History of Ideas and the first editor and president emeritus of the Journal of the History of Philosophy.
Extent
50 Linear Feet 50 boxes
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. For permission for publication, contact the copyright holder.
Availability
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library for paging information.