Leon Fink (historian)
Encyclopedia
Leon Fink is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of History at the University of Illinois at Chicago
. A historian, his research and writing focuses on labor unions in the United States
, immigration and the nature of work. He is the editor of Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas
, the premier journal of labor history in the United States.
in 1948.
He received his A.B.
degree from Harvard University
in 1970. While at Harvard, he spent the 1968-1969 term studying at the Centre for the Study of Social History at the University of Warwick
in Coventry
, U.K.
.
He obtained his master's degree
in 1971 and his doctorate
in 1977, both from the University of Rochester
, where he studied with Herbert Gutman
.
.
From 1983 to 1984, Fink was a Fulbright Program
scholar at the Amerika-Institut at the University of Munich
in West Germany
.
In 1985, Fink was appointed an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
(UNC). He became a full professor in 1990 and Zachary Smith Professor of History in 1995.
In 2000, Fink assumed a position as a professor in the Department of History at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
. He is an expert on the history of work, and on labor unions in the Gilded Age
and the Progressive Era
. More recently, his work has focus on the role of immigration historically and in the modern labor movement. He writes from the perspective of the "new labor history
".
In 1991, Fink and UNC professor Lloyd Kramer founded the UNC Project for Historical Education (PHE). The program sponsors workshops on teaching history for elementary and secondary public school social studies teachers. The workshops focus on recent developments in historical research, strategies for integrating research into lesson plans, how to use primary documents in teaching, and other aspects of teaching history.
Fink's 1994 book, In Search of the Working Class: Essays in American Labor History and Political Culture, drew attention for its focus on the role of the historian. The essays in the book highlight the role of the historian as an outside observer of a basic unit of culture and economics as the worker, and what constitutes the "working class." The essays also cover the development of labor history in the United States from its inception in the 1880s as history through the institutionalist
period to the "new labor history" period in vogue today. It concludes with an examination of the role history, culture, art and social movements play in American labor history and why scholars must focus on these factors in addition to workers and their organizations.
Fink's second book, 1998's Progressive Intellectuals and the Dilemmas of Democratic Commitment, drew attention in the field of history for its focus on the tension which arises when educated historians study relatively uneducated workers. Using biographies of some of the top labor historians and intellectuals in the field of labor studies, Fink illustrated the problems which can arise when historians try to learn from workers at the same time that they attempt to advise them.
In 1999, Fink established the "Listening for a Change" initiative at the Southern Oral History Program. "Listening for a Change" was designed to conduct oral histories of workers in order to document the on-the-ground history of the working class. In its first year, the program conduced 20 interviews with Guatemalan agricultural workers to illuminate how the influx of Hispanic workers is changing the nature of work in North Carolina.
In 2003, Fink helped establish the journal Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas
. Fink had been editor-in-chief of the journal Labor History
. In June 2003, Fink and the entire staff left Labor History in a dispute with the journal's publisher, Taylor and Francis
. One editorial board member said the publisher wanted to increase the number of issues a year in order to justify an increase in the subscription price, even though the editorial staff felt there were not enough quality articles to fill additional issues.
' (OAH) Merle Curti
Prize Committee. That same year, he was elected to a three-year term as a vice president for the American Historical Association
's (AHA) Teaching Division.
In 2000, Fink was named as the AHA's representative on the board of National Council for History Education.
In 2006, Fink was a lecturer in the OAH Distinguished Lectureship Program.
Fink is the editor of Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas.
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
. A historian, his research and writing focuses on labor unions in the United States
Labor unions in the United States
Labor unions in the United States are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries. The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers and police...
, immigration and the nature of work. He is the editor of Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas
Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas
Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas is a peer reviewed quarterly journal which publishes articles regarding the history of the labor movement in the United States. It is the official journal of the Labor and Working-Class History Association and is published by Duke University...
, the premier journal of labor history in the United States.
Early life and education
Fink was born in Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
in 1948.
He received his A.B.
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
degree from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1970. While at Harvard, he spent the 1968-1969 term studying at the Centre for the Study of Social History at the University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
He obtained his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1971 and his doctorate
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 1977, both from the University of Rochester
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
, where he studied with Herbert Gutman
Herbert Gutman
Herbert Gutman was an American professor of history at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he wrote on slavery and labor history.-Early life and education:...
.
Career
After obtaining his master's degree, from 1972 to 1974 Fink was a lecturer in the Department of History at the City College of New YorkCity College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
.
From 1983 to 1984, Fink was a Fulbright Program
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
scholar at the Amerika-Institut at the University of Munich
Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich , commonly known as the University of Munich or LMU, is a university in Munich, Germany...
in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
In 1985, Fink was appointed an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
(UNC). He became a full professor in 1990 and Zachary Smith Professor of History in 1995.
In 2000, Fink assumed a position as a professor in the Department of History at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Research focus
Fink is considered a top scholar in U.S. and comparative labor historyLabor history (discipline)
Labor history is a broad field of study concerned with the development of the labor movement and the working class. The central concerns of labor historians include the development of labor unions, strikes, lockouts and protest movements, industrial relations, and the progress of working class and...
. He is an expert on the history of work, and on labor unions in the Gilded Age
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age refers to the era of rapid economic and population growth in the United States during the post–Civil War and post-Reconstruction eras of the late 19th century. The term "Gilded Age" was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded...
and the Progressive Era
Progressive Era
The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of social activism and political reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s. One main goal of the Progressive movement was purification of government, as Progressives tried to eliminate corruption by exposing and undercutting political...
. More recently, his work has focus on the role of immigration historically and in the modern labor movement. He writes from the perspective of the "new labor history
New labor history
New labor history is a branch of labor history which focuses on the experiences of workers, women, and minorities in the study of history. It is heavily influenced by social history....
".
In 1991, Fink and UNC professor Lloyd Kramer founded the UNC Project for Historical Education (PHE). The program sponsors workshops on teaching history for elementary and secondary public school social studies teachers. The workshops focus on recent developments in historical research, strategies for integrating research into lesson plans, how to use primary documents in teaching, and other aspects of teaching history.
Fink's 1994 book, In Search of the Working Class: Essays in American Labor History and Political Culture, drew attention for its focus on the role of the historian. The essays in the book highlight the role of the historian as an outside observer of a basic unit of culture and economics as the worker, and what constitutes the "working class." The essays also cover the development of labor history in the United States from its inception in the 1880s as history through the institutionalist
Institutionalism
Institutionalism can refer to:* Old Institutionalism: An approach to the study of politics that focuses on formal institutions of government* New institutionalism: a social theory that focuses on developing a sociological view of institutions, the way they interact and the effects of institutions...
period to the "new labor history" period in vogue today. It concludes with an examination of the role history, culture, art and social movements play in American labor history and why scholars must focus on these factors in addition to workers and their organizations.
Fink's second book, 1998's Progressive Intellectuals and the Dilemmas of Democratic Commitment, drew attention in the field of history for its focus on the tension which arises when educated historians study relatively uneducated workers. Using biographies of some of the top labor historians and intellectuals in the field of labor studies, Fink illustrated the problems which can arise when historians try to learn from workers at the same time that they attempt to advise them.
In 1999, Fink established the "Listening for a Change" initiative at the Southern Oral History Program. "Listening for a Change" was designed to conduct oral histories of workers in order to document the on-the-ground history of the working class. In its first year, the program conduced 20 interviews with Guatemalan agricultural workers to illuminate how the influx of Hispanic workers is changing the nature of work in North Carolina.
In 2003, Fink helped establish the journal Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas
Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas
Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas is a peer reviewed quarterly journal which publishes articles regarding the history of the labor movement in the United States. It is the official journal of the Labor and Working-Class History Association and is published by Duke University...
. Fink had been editor-in-chief of the journal Labor History
Labor History (journal)
Labor History is an inter-disciplinary, peer reviewed journal which publishes articles regarding the history of the labor movement in the United States, Europe and other regions and countries....
. In June 2003, Fink and the entire staff left Labor History in a dispute with the journal's publisher, Taylor and Francis
Taylor and Francis
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in the United Kingdom which publishes books and academic journals. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Kingdom-based publisher and conference company.- Overview :...
. One editorial board member said the publisher wanted to increase the number of issues a year in order to justify an increase in the subscription price, even though the editorial staff felt there were not enough quality articles to fill additional issues.
Memberships and awards
1998 was a year of many honors for Fink. He was appointed to the National Advisory Board of the Society for History Education, was named a fellow at the Charles Warren Center at Harvard University, and was named to the Organization of American HistoriansOrganization of American Historians
The Organization of American Historians , formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S...
' (OAH) Merle Curti
Merle Curti
Merle Curti was a leading American historian. He taught a large number of PhD students at the University of Wisconsin, and was a leader in developing the fields of social history and intellectual history. As a "Progressive" historian he was deeply committed to democracy, and to the Turnerian...
Prize Committee. That same year, he was elected to a three-year term as a vice president for the American Historical Association
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest society of historians and professors of history in the United States. Founded in 1884, the association promotes historical studies, the teaching of history, and the preservation of and access to historical materials...
's (AHA) Teaching Division.
In 2000, Fink was named as the AHA's representative on the board of National Council for History Education.
In 2006, Fink was a lecturer in the OAH Distinguished Lectureship Program.
Fink is the editor of Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas.
Solely authored books
- In Search of the Working Class: Essays in American Labor History and Political Culture. Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1994. ISBN 0252020774
- The Maya of Morganton: Work and Community in the Nuevo New South. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. ISBN 0807854476
- Progressive Intellectuals and the Dilemmas of Democratic Commitment. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1998. ISBN 0674661605
- Workingmen's Democracy: The Knights of Labor and American Politics. Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1983. ISBN 0252009991
Co-edited books
- Fink, Leon, and Greenberg, Brian. Upheaval in the Quiet Zone: The History of Hospital Workers' Union, Local 1199. Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1989. ISBN 0252015452
- Fink, Leon; Leonard, Stephen T.; and Reid, Donald M. Intellectuals and Public Life: Between Radicalism and Reform. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1996. ISBN 0801427940
- Fink, Leon and Paterson, Thomas. Major Problems in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN 0618042555
Solely-authored book chapters
- "American Labor History." In New American History. Eric Foner, ed. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990. ISBN 0877226989
- "Expert Advice: Progressive Intellectuals and the Unraveling of Labor Reform, 1912-1915." In Intellectuals and Public Life: Between Radicalism and Reform. Leon Fink, Stephen T. Leonard, and Donald M. Reid, eds. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1996. ISBN 0801427940
- "Looking Backwards: Reflections on Workers' Culture and the Conceptual Dilemmas of the New Labor History." In Perspectives on American Labor History: The Problem of Synthesis. Alice Kessler-Harris and J. Carroll Moody, eds. Chicago: Northern Illinois University Press, 1989. ISBN 0875801501
- "The Maya of Morganton: Exploring Worker Identity Within the Global Marketplace." In The Maya Diaspora: Guatemalan Roots, American Lives. James Loucky and Marilyn M. Moors meds. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2000. ISBN 1566397944
- "From Autonomy to Abundance: Changing Beliefs About the Free Labor System in Nineteenth Century America." In Terms of Labor: Slavery, Serfdom, and Free Labor. Stanley L. Engerman, ed. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0804735212
- "The Uses of Politics: Towards a Theory of the Labor Movement in the Era of the Knights of Labor." In Working-Class America: Essays on Labor, Community, and American Society. Michael Frisch and Daniel Walkowitz, eds. Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois, 1983. ISBN 0252009533
- "Was the American Labor Movement Radical?" In Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History. Volume II: Reconstruction to the Present. Larry Madaras and James M. SoRelle, eds. New York City: McGraw-Hill, 1989. ISBN 0073102180
- "Working-Class Radicalism in the Gilded Age." In Conflict and Consensus in American History. 7th ed. Allen F. Davis and Harold D. Woodman, eds. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1988. ISBN 0669128023
Co-authored book chapters
- Fink, Leon and Greenberg, Brian. "Organizing Montefiore: Labor Militancy Meets a Progressive Health Empire." In Health Care in America: Essays in Social History. Susan Reverby and David Rosner, eds. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1979. ISBN 0877221537
Solely authored articles
- " 'Intellectuals' vs. 'Workers': Academic Requirements and the Creation of Labor History." American Historical Review. 96 (April 1991).
- "Culture's Last Stand? Gender and the Search for Synthesis in American Labor History." Labor History. 34 (Spring-Summer 1993).
- "Early Labor Studies and the Dual Search for Legitimacy." Labor Law Journal. 49 (September 1998).
- "John R. Commons, Herbert Gutman, and the Burden of Labor History." Labor History. 29 (Summer 1988).
- "A Memoir of Selig Perlman and His Life at the University of Wisconsin: Based on an Interview of Mark Perlman." Labor History. 32 (Fall 1991).
- "New Tidings for History Education, or Lessons We Should Have Learned by Now." History Teacher 34 (February 2001).
- "What Is To Be Done-In Labor History?" Labor History. 43 (November 2002).
Co-authored articles
- Fink, Leon and Levine, Susan. "Herbert G. Gutman." Labour/Le Travail. 16 (Fall 1985).