Wolin (Sheldon S.) papers, 1941-2010

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Summary

Creators:
Wolin, Sheldon S.
Abstract:
The Sheldon Wolin papers document his work as a political theorist, writer, and teacher. The collection includes academic and editorial correspondence; administrative materials from the Universities of California at Berkeley and Santa Cruz, Princeton, and Cornell; drafts of, and notes and research for, Wolin’s articles, talks, class lectures, and book projects; and a small amount of personalia. A good portion of the collection contains materials related to an unpublished manuscript that Wolin worked on for over 40 years, “Dialogues with Power.”
Extent:
27.65 Linear Feet (21 cartons, 4 boxes)
Language:
English and Collection materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Sheldon S. Wolin papers, BANC MSS 2013/152,The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Background

Scope and content:

The Sheldon Wolin papers document his work as a political theorist, writer, and teacher. The collection includes academic and editorial correspondence; administrative materials from the Universities of California at Berkeley and Santa Cruz, Princeton, and Cornell; drafts of, and notes and research for, Wolin’s articles, talks, class lectures, and book projects; and a very small amount of personalia. A good portion of the collection contains materials related to an unpublished manuscript that Wolin worked on for over 40 years, “Dialogues with Power.” The collection is divided into seven series: Correspondence; Administrative Materials; Writings; “Dialogues with Power”; Research Notebooks and Subject Files; Course Materials; and Personalia.

Wolin's papers were stored in a shed and subject to the elements. Preservation measures were taken to clean up the collection and attempts were made to remove dirt and detritus. Wolin’s groupings of materials and original folder titles and notes were retained throughout.

Biographical / historical:

Political theorist and public intellectual Sheldon Wolin was born in Chicago in 1922 and grew up in Buffalo, New York. Wolin earned his BA at Oberlin College in 1946, and his Ph.D. at Harvard in 1950. He interrupted his college career to enlist in the Army Air Forces, where he was a navigator and bombardier in the Pacific. Wolin was a professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley from 1954-1970 and taught for a few years at the University of California, Santa Cruz before joining the Department of Politics at Princeton, where he taught from 1972 until his retirement in 1987.

Wolin’s 1960 book, “Politics and Vision” was credited with reviving political theory and transforming the study of politics. The American Political Association honored it with the Benjamin E. Lippincott Award in 1985, recognizing it as a book of lasting political impact. Wolin wrote a number of influential studies on the limits and possibilities of popular democracy and the intersection of democracy, power, and the state, and he founded the short-lived journal, “democracy,” which explored the potential of populist movements. He wrote for popular as well as academic audiences, and his work frequently appeared in journals like “The New York Review of Books.”

Wolin and his colleagues, Michael Rogin and Hanna Pitkin, made Berkeley a leading center for the study of political theory, and headquarters for what came to be called the “Berkeley school.” He had a reputation as a great and kind teacher, and mentored many students at Princeton who became influential political theorists in their own right, including Wendy Brown and Cornell West.

Wolin considered his work activism, writing that political theory was primarily a civic duty and only secondarily an academic activity. Personally, he was politically active. Wolin was one of the earliest faculty supporters of the Free Speech Movement on the Berkeley campus, an anti-Apartheid activist and, in his retirement, a dedicated supporter of conservation efforts to protect redwood forests in the Pacific Northwest. Wolin died at the age of 93 in 2015.

Acquisition information:
The Sheldon S. Wolin papers were given to The Bancroft Library in 2013 by Sheldon S. Wolin.
Processing information:

Arranged to the folder level.

Processed by Marjorie Bryer in 2018.

Accruals:

No future additions are expected.

Physical location:
Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Cartons 1-21 and Boxes 1-2 are open for research. Boxes 3-4 include restricted student work and personnel information and are closed to researchers until 2062.

Terms of access:

Some materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Sheldon S. Wolin papers, BANC MSS 2013/152,The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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