Item 1545 - Anton T. Boisen and theology through living human documents

Identity area

Reference code

CA ON00389 F4-9-1-1545

Title

Anton T. Boisen and theology through living human documents

Date(s)

  • September 1968 (Creation)

Level of description

Item

Extent and medium

15 p. of textual records

Context area

Name of creator

(1932-1996)

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

This item consists of a 15 page article by Henri Nouwen entitled: Anton T. Boisen and Theology through living human documents, published in Pastoral Psychology, Volume 19, No. 186, September 1968, p. 49 – 63. This issue of Pastoral Psychology is an Anton T. Boisen Memorial Issue and consists of 9 articles of which Henri Nouwen’s is the last. In this article Nouwen looks at Boisen’s important development of the use of the case study in the clinical training of theological students. Because this development of the case study arose out of Boisen’s confrontation with his own psychotic breakdown in 1920, Nouwen focuses much of this article on the life of Boisen, the relationships that formed his direction from his study of languages, forestry and finally, the ministry. Nouwen states: "In a way, we can say that Boisen’s own psychosis became the center of his identity…there he found his true vocation: the ministry to the mentally ill. There he found the main concepts of his most important publication, The Exploration of the Inner World and there he found the basis of his idea for the clinical training of theological students." The article has a number of headings: The Man, The Central Experience (his psychotic breakdown), The input (here Nouwen discusses some of the people who deeply influenced Boisen), The Outcome (here is discussed his development of the case method, Growth through Conflicts (the growth of the case method and evolutions which Boisen found difficult) and The Last Years (covers the years from Boisen’s retirement until his death in 1965 at the age of 89).

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Conditions governing reproduction

Language of material

    Script of material

      Language and script notes

      Physical characteristics and technical requirements

      Finding aids

      Generated finding aid

      Allied materials area

      Existence and location of originals

      Existence and location of copies

      Preservation photocopy available in Articles by Nouwen Access Copy Box 1.

      Related units of description

      Related descriptions

      Publication note

      Published in Pastoral Psychology 19, no. 186 (September 1968): 49-63.

      Notes area

      Note

      Page 52 of photocopy of the article is missing; there are two "51" pages.
      First page of photocopy of article has been annotated in pen by Nouwen: "File Boisen Articles."

      Alternative identifier(s)

      Accession Number

      2000 01 ; 2007 62

      Location

      Box 294

      Access points

      Subject access points

      Place access points

      Name access points

      Genre access points

      Description control area

      Description identifier

      Institution identifier

      Rules and/or conventions used

      Dates of creation revision deletion

      Added by L Joson, 6 November 2017
      Revised by L Joson, 21 June 2018

      Language(s)

        Script(s)

          Sources

          Accession area