The collection consists of materials related to the career of UCLA professor of Political Science, US policy advisor, and China scholar Richard Baum. Baum was founder of the listserv Chinapol and was an influential authority on contemporary Chinese politics who authored more than 50 scholarly studies and six books. The materials include correspondence, conference files, Baum’s writings, course materials, and recordings of Baum’s lectures.

Richard Baum was born in Los Angeles, CA on July 8, 1940. Baum Studied political science at UCLA, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1962. Baum continued his political science studies at UC Berkeley, receiving his master’s degree in 1963 and his doctorate in 1970. Baum traveled to Taiwan in 1967 to study Mandarin while working towards his doctorate degree. It was during this trip that Baum discovered classified materials documenting activities at the highest levels of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Baum launched into his scholarly career when he made unauthorized copies of these documents and used the materials to write an analysis of the conflicts between Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution and the interests of the CCP.

8.8 linear feet (19 document boxes, 1 record carton, 1 shoe box)

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COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.