History and aims
The Husserl-Archives at the Institute of Philosophy (Hoger Instituut voor Wijsbegeerte) at the Catholic University of Leuven
The Husserl-Archives were founded in 1939 shortly after Edmund Husserl's death. Because Husserl and his wife were of Jewish descent his manuscripts were in great danger in Nazi-ruled Germany. The Franciscan father H.L. Van Breda succeeded in bringing Mrs. Husserl, the manuscripts, the extensive philosophical library and the correspondence of Husserl to Leuven.
The manuscripts comprise approximately 40.000 pages most of which are in Gabelsberger stenography plus 10.000 pages of typewritten transcriptions made by Husserl's assistants during his lifetime. The library contains approximately 2,700 volumes plus approximately 2,000 separate prints of articles. Besides Husserl's manuscripts and books, the Archives includes most of Husserl's extensive correspondence, many documents about Husserl's life and university career as well as lecture and seminar notes made by his students.
Already before the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940, the two last assistants of Husserl, Eugen Fink and Ludwig Landgrebe, began the task of transcribing Husserl's manuscripts at the newly founded Husserl-Archives in Leuven. This work is still proceeding today. Approximately 85 percent of all manuscripts have been transcribed.
In 1950 a critical edition of the Cartesianische Meditationen was published as the first volume in the series Husserliana. Edmund Husserl, Gesammelte Werke. To this day 38 volumes have been published in the series. Some of these editions have been prepared at the Husserl-Archives in Cologne and Freiburg i.Br. in Germany, though always under the guidance and supervision of the main Archives in Leuven. Besides the Archives in Cologne and Freiburg i.Br. subsidiary Archives and phenomenological research centers were established at the New School for Social Research in New York, the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, the Université Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve and at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. A set of the available transcriptions of Husserl's manuscripts has been deposited in each of these Archives and research centers.
In 1958 the first volume in the series Phaenomenologica appeared. The series is dedicated to publishing historical and systematic monographs about Husserl and the phenomenological movement and is edited jointly by the Archives in Leuven and the Centre d'Études Phénoménologiques at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve. In almost half a century more than 175 volumes have been published.
In 1977 the Husserl-Chronik was published as the first volume in the series Husserliana. Edmund Husserl, Dokumente and in 1980 the series Edmund Husserl, Collected Works was started. The latter publishes English translations based on the Husserliana-volumes. Ten volumes have been published so far. These and all translations in whatever language are checked regarding their reliability and approved by the Husserl-Archives before publication. For some languages expert help from outside is called upon.
In 2001 a new subseries entitled Materialien as part of the Husserliana has been introduced for the publication of research manuscripts and lectures from the Nachlass of Edmund Husserl. This new series publishes reliable transcriptions and unpublished manuscripts. In contrast with the "Gesammelte Werke" the texts are not arranged into titled parts, chapters, and paragraphs, insofar as Husserl did not do this himself, nor do they provide supplementary texts. The textual criticism is limited to footnotes documenting only the most important textual changes and references. In the editor's introduction information on the text's history and editing is given. The reason to have started with this new series is to make available certain texts from Husserl's Nachlass which, although essential and historically instructive, will not be published in the "Gesammelte Werke". Moreover this new series provides the opportunity to publish drafts and compilations based on Husserl's manuscript worked out by his assistants.
Throughout the year the Archives welcomes Husserl scholars from all over the world for shorter or longer periods of research. They have authorized access to primary sources, the manuscripts, documents and books of the library of Husserl as well as to an important research library covering all the secondary literature on Husserl and a broad range of other phenomenological works.
The Archives is one of the research centers of the Institute of Philosophy. As such it organises two seminars in the doctoral program of the Institute each year. It regulary invites distinguished scholars in phenomenology to give lectures and seminars.
After the sudden death of Father Van Breda in 1974, Samuel IJsseling succeeded him as director of the Archives. After IJsseling's retirement in 1997 Rudolf Bernet became director and since 2007 Ullrich Melle is the new director of the Husserl-Archives.
A book on the foundation and history of the Husserl-Archives, containing the personal account of Father Van Breda and the developments after his death (compiled by Dr. Thomas Vongehr) in both German and English, is available from Springer.