 | Jaroslav Pelikan |
Historian Jaroslav Pelikan of Yale has been named one of two recipients of the Library of Congress' John W. Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Human Sciences, an international award that recognizes individuals for their contributions in a range of disciplines not covered by the Nobel Prizes.
Pelikan and French philosopher Paul Ricoeur will receive the honor -- which includes a financial award at the level of Nobel Prizes -- in a formal ceremony being held Dec. 8 at the Library of Congress. It will be presented by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington.
The Kluge Prize was offered for the first time last year to philosopher, historian and essayist Leszek Kolakowski. Recipients are nominated for the honor by individuals who are knowledgeable about the humanities and social sciences in colleges, universities and research institutions around the globe, as well as by independent scholars and writers.
Nominees work in fields for which there is no Nobel Prize, including philosophy, history, political science, anthropology, sociology, religion, linguistics, and criticism in the arts and literature. A panel of Library of Congress curators then conducts extensive biographical and bibliographical research about each candidate before making recommendations to the Librarian of Congress.
The main criterion for the award is intellectual accomplishment, but the recipients are also chosen for demonstrating "growth in maturity and range over the years" and for writing in a way that is "understandable and important for those involved in public affairs," according to the website for the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress.
Pelikan, who is Sterling Professor Emeritus of History, is an internationally renowned authority on medieval intellectual history, the evolution of Christianity and the history of religion. In a press release announcing the co-winners of the Kluge Prize, the Library of Congress noted that Pelikan has made "unrivaled contributions to intellectual, cultural and religious history." His books include an authoritative work on the life and work of Martin Luther and a series of 22 volumes he edited from 1955 to 1971 that involved a painstaking translation of Luther's writings.
"He has illuminated many aspects of both political and religious life through the visual arts, music, literature, textual interruptions and the role of the university," noted the Library of Congress.
Pelikan's other works include the five-volume "The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine," "The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition," "Credo: Historical and Theological Introduction to Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition," "Jesus Through the Centuries," "Bach Among the Theologians," "Mary Through the Centuries," "The Idea of the University" and "The Bible and the Constitution."
Pelikan was born in Akron, Ohio, to a Slovak father who had immigrated to the United States as a child and a Serbian mother. His father later returned to Slovakia as a Lutheran minister. His paternal grandfather was bishop of the Slovak Lutheran Church in America. "Young Jaroslav developed an early love of language -- learning to use a typewriter at the age of 2-1/2, mastering Slovak, Czech, German, English and, in college, Greek, Latin, Serbian, Russian and Hebrew," commented the Library of Congress in its announcement. "His intense devotion to scholarship and his rare linguistic abilities led him to edit and translate primary texts from the biblical, classical, medieval, reformation and modern periods to build bridges between communities in Eastern and Western Europe."
The Yale historian graduated summa cum laude from Concordia College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and went on to earn a bachelor of divinity from the Concordia Theological Seminary and a doctorate from the University of Chicago. He taught at Valparaiso University in Indiana, Concordia Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago before joining the Yale faculty in 1962. He was named Sterling Professor 10 years later and served as dean of the Graduate School 1973-1978.
"As a teacher, Pelikan had a larger-than-life reputation, relating well both to specialized academic and general audiences," stated the Library of Congress in its announcement. "His mastery of so much primary literature enabled him to synthesize and interpret lengthy periods of intellectual history. As one of his former students said: 'He teaches in a way that makes the listener feel intelligent; one feels that one is fully understanding (or perhaps discovering for oneself) the intricacies of the argument.'"
During his career, the Yale historian was invited to give a number of prestigious lectures, including the Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities (the highest honor conferred by the U.S. government for outstanding achievement in the humanities), the William Clyde DeVane Lectures (established in honor of a former Yale College dean and delivered by a distinguished Yale scholar whose work extends across several disciplines) and the Gifford Lectures in Scotland (a lectureship that has often been compared in status with a Nobel Prize). He has also earned numerous honorary degrees.
Pelikan has served as president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and founding chair of the Council of Scholars at the Library of Congress. He also chaired the board of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. He was a scholar at the Library of Congress' Kluge Center for one year, holding the Kluge Chair in Countries and Cultures of the North. At the age of 80, he accepted the position of scholarly director of the Institutions of Democracy Project at the Annenberg Foundation.
The Yale historian has long been fascinated with tradition, how it begins and how succeeding generations both continue and change it. To describe his own fascination with history, Pelikan has sometimes quoted a favorite passage of his from Goethe's "Faust," which, he has said, serves as the best motto for life. It reads: "What you have as heritage/Take now as task;/ For thus you will make it your own."
T H I S
Library of Congress gives Pelikan
Kluge Prize for lifetime achievements
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