Leon Fink (born January 9, 1948) is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of History at the
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...
. 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'', the premier journal of labor history in the United States.
Early life and education
Fink was born in
Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1948.
He received his
B.A
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
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
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
,
U.K.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
He obtained his
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in 1971 and his
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...
in 1977, both from the
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...
, where he studied with
Herbert Gutman
Herbert George Gutman (1928–1985) 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
Gutman was born in 1928 to Jewish immigra ...
.
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 York.
From 1983 to 1984, Fink was a
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...
scholar at the Amerika-Institut at the
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
in
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
In 1985, Fink was appointed an associate professor of history at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the 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 history
Labor history or labour history is a sub-discipline of social history which specialises on the history of the working classes and the labor movement. Labor historians may concern themselves with issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and other fac ...
. He is an expert on the history of work, and on labor unions in the
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Wes ...
and the
Progressive Era
The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...
. 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 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.
Before the 1960s, most labor historians around the world focused ...
".
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 third 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 conducted 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
Labor history or labour history is a sub-discipline of social history which specialises on the history of the working classes and the labor movement. Labor historians may concern themselves with issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and other fac ...
.'' In June 2003, Fink and the entire staff left ''Labor History'' in a dispute with the journal's publisher,
Taylor and Francis
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Ki ...
.
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
A society is a Social group, group of individuals involved in persistent Social relation, social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same Politics, political authority an ...
, was named a fellow at the Charles Warren Center at Harvard University, and was named to the
Organization of American Historians' (OAH)
Merle Curti
Merle Eugene Curti (September 15, 1897 – March 9, 1996) was a leading American historian, who taught many graduate students at Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin, and was a leader in developing the fields of social history and ...
Prize Committee. That same year, he was elected to a three-year term as a vice president for the
American Historical Association
The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world. Founded in 1884, the AHA works to protect academic freedom, develop professional s ...
's (AHA) Teaching Division.
In 2000, Fink was named as the AHA's representative on the board of
National Council for History Education
The National Council for History Education (NCHE) is a United States-based non-profit advocacy group that promotes the importance of history.
Overview
The National Council for History Education was incorporated in 1990 as a successor to the B ...
.
In 2006, Fink was a lecturer in the OAH Distinguished Lectureship Program.
Fink is the editor of ''
Labor: Studies in Working-Class History.''
Published works
Solely authored books
*''In Search of the Working Class: Essays in American Labor History and Political Culture.'' Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1994.
*''The Maya of Morganton: Work and Community in the Nuevo New South.'' Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2003.
*''Progressive Intellectuals and the Dilemmas of Democratic Commitment.'' Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1998.
*''Workingmen's Democracy: The Knights of Labor and American Politics.'' Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1983.
*''Sweatshops at Sea: Merchant Seamen in the World's First Globalized Industry, from 1812 to the Present.'' Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2011.
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.
*Fink, Leon; Leonard, Stephen T.; and Reid, Donald M. ''Intellectuals and Public Life: Between Radicalism and Reform.'' Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1996.
*Fink, Leon and Paterson, Thomas. ''Major Problems in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.'' 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
Solely-authored book chapters
*"American Labor History." In ''New American History.'' Eric Foner, ed. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990.
*"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.
*"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.
*"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.
*"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.
*"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.
*"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.
*"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.
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.
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).
References
*Blewett, Mary. " 'In Search of the Working Class: Essays in American Labor History and Political Culture.' Book Reviews." ''Labor History.'' February 1998.
Leon Fink, Dept. of History, University of Illinois at Chicago*Smallwood, Scott and Glenn, David. "Editor of 'Labor History' Quits, and Dozens Join Him." ''Chronicle of Higher Education.'' July 4, 2003.
*''Writer's Directory.'' 22nd ed. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale Group, 2007.
External links
University of Illinois at Chicago
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fink, Leon
1948 births
Living people
Writers from Ann Arbor, Michigan
University of Illinois Chicago faculty
City College of New York faculty
Writers from Chicago
Harvard University alumni
University of Rochester alumni
Labor historians
21st-century American historians
American male non-fiction writers
Historians of the United States
Historians from Illinois
Historians from Michigan
21st-century American male writers