Inventory of the David Brody Papers
D-163
Finding aid prepared by Brittani Orona
University of California, Davis General Library, Dept. of Special Collections
1st Floor, Shields Library, University of California
100 North West Quad
Davis, CA, 95616-5292
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
© 2013
Title: David Brody Papers
Identifier/Call Number: D-163
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Davis General Library, Dept. of Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
13.0 linear feet.
Date (bulk): 1970-1979
Date (inclusive): 1953-2009
Abstract: The David Brody Papers features correspondence, essays, teaching materials, ephemera, and other materials related to Dr. Brody’s
time as Professor of History at UC Davis and other academic institutions. Dr. Brody is Emeritus Professor of American Labor
History at UC Davis where he spent the majority of his professional career. The David Brody Papers span the years 1953-2009
with emails, letters, publishing contracts, essays, and promotional materials related to the various books, film projects,
and scholarly works Dr. Brody contributed to. The David Brody Papers also features personal correspondence to friends, colleagues,
and former students.
Physical location: Researchers should contact Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Creator:
Brody, David, 1930-
Biography
Dr. David Brody is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of California, Davis and a renowned scholar in American
labor history and industrial relations. Dr. Brody was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey to Ira and Barnet Brody on June 5th, 1930.
He received his B.A. (1952), M.A.(1953), and Ph.D. (1958) from Harvard University. Alongside Dr. David Montgomery and Dr.
Herbert Gutman, he is co-founder of “new labor history,” a genre of American labor studies that focuses on workers in a social
rather than organizational context. He has taught at Northeastern University (1958-1959), Harvard University (1959-1961),
Columbia University (1961-1965), and Ohio State University (1965-1967), and UC Davis from 1967 until his retirement in 1993.
He has served as visiting professor of labor history and industrial relations at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom,
Moscow State University in Russia, and the University of Sydney in Australia. Dr. Brody is affiliated with the Institute for
Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) at the University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Brody is the author of several books and essays on American labor history. Notable titles include:
Steelworkers in America: The Nonunion Era (1960),
The Butcher Workmen: A Study of Unionization (1964),
Labor in Crisis: The Steel Strike of 1919 (1965), and
Workers in Industrial America: Essays on the Twentieth-Century Struggle (1980). He is also author of essays related to labor and industrial relations. These essays include "Labor History, Industrial
Relations, and the Crisis of American Labor" in
Industrial and Labor Relations Review (1989), "The Old Labor History and the New: In Search of an American Working Class" in
Labor History (1979), “Interrogating the Great Depression” in
Academics on Free Choice: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Labor Law Reform (2009).
Dr. Brody is a member of the Organization of American Historians, and has served as an editorial board member for the peer
reviewed journal
Labor History. He served as member and contributor for the American Teachers Federation (AFL-CIO) and President of the UC Davis Graduate
Council, and has contributed scholarly articles and opinion pieces to various journals including the
Industrial and Labor Relations Review and
Dissent.
Dr. Brody is the recipient of numerous academic awards and honors. He was a Senior Fellow for the National Endowment for the
Humanities (1978), a past recipient of the Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship (1983), and President of the Pacific Coast Branch
of the American Historical Association (1991-1992). Dr. Brody was awarded the Sol Stein Award for Labor History from the Sidney
Hillman Foundation (2008) for his contributions to labor history. He is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award
at the Institute For Research on Labor and Employment.
Dr. Brody retired from UC Davis in 1993.
Scope and Content
The David Brody Collection spans the years 1959-2010 with the bulk of the collection spanning 1970-1979. The collection is
separated into three series: 1.) Correspondence; 2.) Teaching and Professional Materials; and 3.) American Federation of Teachers.
Correspondence focuses primarily on David Brody’s professional and private letters to and from colleagues and friends. The
Correspondence series also includes letters to and from former students seeking recommendations or advice, and colleagues
offering opinions on aspects of labor history and general academia. Notable correspondences recipients include: Dr. David
Montgomery, Farnham Emeritus Professor of History at Yale University and co- founder of “New Labor History;” Dr. Lizabeth
Cohen, Professor of History and American Studies at Harvard University and author of Making a
New Deal: Industrial Workers in Chicago, 1919-1939; as well as various colleagues from Swarthmore College, Columbia University, and the Institute for Industrial Relations,
known now as the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) at UC Berkeley. The second series, Teaching and Professional
Materials, contains academic papers written by Dr. Brody including draft copies of "Labor History, Industrial Relations, and
the Crisis of American Labor," ephemera from conferences Brody attended or participated in, syllabus for graduate and undergraduate
courses taught in U.S. and Labor History at Harvard and UC Davis, and notes from Brody’s time as a member of the editorial
board for the
Labor History Journal. The final series, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) contains letters, notes, ephemera, and related materials corresponding
to Dr. Brody’s time as member, task force consultant, and UC Davis Graduate Council President for AFT.
Arrangement of the Collection
The collection is arranged into three series: Correspondence; Teaching and Professional Materials; and American Federation
of Teachers.
Related Collections
The following collections may be of interest:
D-257, Roland C. Marchand Papers, 1933-1998. Professor of History, University of California, Davis, Chair of History Department,
(1978-1988, 1989-1991)-Research files, correspondence, publication files, ephemera, and memorabilia relating to Marchand's
research in American corporate history.
Access
Collection is open for research.
Processing Information
Published materials, such as general books and government documents, have been separated from the collection. These have been
reviewed and, where appropriate, added to the Shields Library general collection. A complete list of publications is kept
on file at Special Collections.
Brittani Orona processed this collection under the guidance of Elizabeth Phillips, Manuscript Archivist
Acquisition Information
Gift of David Brody, 2012
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], David Brody Papers., D-163, Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California,
Davis.
Publication Rights
Copyright is protected by the copyright law, chapter 17, of the U.S. Code. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Department of Special Collections, General Library, University of California, Davis as the owner of the physical items
and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Brody, David, 1930- --Archives
American Federation of Teachers
Labor movement--United States--History--20th century
University of California, Davis--Faculty--Archives
Correspondence
Bulk, 1970-1978
1968-2009
Physical Description:
4.0 linear feet.
Scope and Contents note
The Correspondence Series includes letters and emails to colleagues, friends, publishers, and acquaintances from David Brody’s
time as a American Labor historian at various academic institutions. Affiliated institutions include UC Davis, Columbia University,
Harvard University, and the Institute for Industrial Relations at UC Berkeley. Correspondence focuses primarily on Brody’s
editorial work with publishing companies and review journals such as the University of Illinois Press, University of North
Carolina Press, and the Pacific Historical Review, among others. Correspondence also includes personal letters to and from
colleagues as well as letters pertaining to various film and National Endowment for the Humanities projects, such as “Lowell
Fever,” that Dr. Brody acted as consultant to. Correspondence features letters and emails related to grant funded projects
Brody applied to and/or received, invitations to speak at special events and conferences, such as the Southern Labor Conference,
and correspondence regarding editorial reviews of books and articles, such as
Labor Embattled: History, Power, Rights, that Brody wrote or collaborated on.
Box-folder 4:1-4:5, 11:1-11:4
Teaching and Professional Materials
Bulk, 1970-1985
1959-2009
Physical Description:
5.0 linear feet.
Scope and Contents note
The Teaching and Professional Series includes materials related to Dr. Brody’s research interest in labor history, editorial
work for a number of academic journals, and various projects Brody collaborated or consulted on. The Teaching and Professional
Series includes ephemera from presentations by Brody, including the Keynote Speaker address at “Labor History in the New Century:
2009-Perth, Australia,” copies of papers presented by Brody at various conferences such as the North American Labor History
Conference-1992, and excerpts of minutes from academic meetings, such as the American Historical Association Council meeting
in San Francisco on January 6th, 1994. Teaching and Professional Materials also includes drafts of scholarly essays penned
by Brody, and contracts for books that Brody published, including the publishing contract for
Labor in Crisis: The Steel Strike of 1919 from the J.P. Lippincott Company.
Box-folder 2:12-2:26, 8:6-8:14
Box-folder 5:10-5:20, 6:12-6:23
American Federation of Teachers
Bulk, 1970-1978
1965-1987
Physical Description:
4.0 Linear feet
Scope and Contents note
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Series includes: ephemera, correspondence, pay grades, newspapers, and articles
all relating to the American Federation of Teachers at UC Davis and other University of California campuses. The AFT series
includes relevant information on attempts to establish a faculty union on the UC Davis campus, the wider UC budget struggles
with the Reagan gubernatorial administration, and copies of the “University Guardian: Publication of the University Council-American
Federation of Teachers.” The American Federation of Teachers Series also includes information on system wide contacts for
the AFT on University of California campuses, notices of AFT meetings, and a AFT document entitled: “Study Plan-Joint Committee
on the Master Plan for Higher Education-January 1972” which requires a “broad mandate to review California higher education
and the Master Plan (for higher education).” David Brody’s contribution to the AFT includes his service as President of the
Graduate Council at UC Davis and a contributor and consultant to the American Teacher’s Federation Union.
