DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY DR. JAMES H. Robb, 1918-1993PAPERS, 1958-1993

Abstract: Administrative subject files, teaching and lecture notes, and research and writing projects by Dr. James H. Robb.

Biographical Note: James H. Robb was born on April 25, 1918 in Bena, Minnesota. He attended St. Cloud State Teachers’ College, completing his Bachelor of Science degree in English and Psychology in 1940. After two years of teaching high school English, Robb entered the Army Signal Corps during the Second World War. He served in the China, India, and Burma until his discharge in 1946. After the war and his conversion to Catholicism, he entered Marquette University where he received his second Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Latin in 1948. Robb next pursued graduate studies at the University of Toronto, receiving a Licentiate in Medieval Studies Summa Cud Laude from the Pontifical Institute in 1952 and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto in 1953. After a Fulbright year in Paris, where he studied medieval philosophy and French cuisine, he began his teaching career at Loyola University of Los Angeles. Dr. Robb returned to Marquette University in 1956, becoming one of the school’s most popular professors over a thirty-year span until his retirement in 1991. Along with a great love for Charles Peguy, Robb was an expert on Medieval Philosophy in general and Thomas Aquinas in particular and was the author/editor of three books: St. Thomas’ Questions on the Soul (1984); Man as Infinite Spirit (1974); critical edition of S. Thomae Aquinatis Quaestiones De Anima(1968) and numerous articles. He also served for over twenty-five years as Editor-in-Chief of the Marquette series, Mediaeval Philosophical Texts in Translation. Dr. James H. Robb died in Milwaukee on September 16, 1993.

Restrictions: Access to these records is unrestricted. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of these records. Consult an archivist for further information.

Scope and Content: This collection consists of Dr. Robb’s correspondence, several short articles, essays, and speeches, both published and unpublished. Also included in the collection is the typescript of several chapters on the philosophy of man, part of a unpublished book Robb was co-authoring with Dr. Kenneth Schmitz. The collection contains an extensive series of typed lecture notes from courses taught by Anton Pegis, Armand Maurer, Etienne Gilson, along with other respected scholars of medieval philosophy.

The James H. Robb Papers

Series 2.1 Biographical
Series 2.2 Personal Correspondence
Series 2.3 Professional Correspondence
Series 2.4 Writing Projects
Series 2.5 Lectures and Presentations
Series 2.6 Papers and Essays
Series 2.7 Other Writings
Series 2.8 Organizations
Series 2.9 Research Files - People and Topics
Series 2.10 Lecture Notes
Series 2.11 Research Notes
Series 2.12 Oversize