Joshua Freeman
Encyclopedia
Joshua B. Freeman is a professor of history
at Queens College, City University of New York
(CUNY) and the CUNY Graduate Center
. He is the former executive officer of the Graduate Center's history department. Freeman is often called the "dean of new york writers."
to working class
parents. His grandfather was very active in the American labor movement
, and politically active. His parents' and grandparents' influence left him deeply aware of what it meant to be working class. As a youth, he often explored working class neighborhoods and felt a deep affinity for other similarly situated people.
Freeman obtained a bachelor's degree
from Harvard University
in 1970.
He obtained a master's degree
in 1976 and a Ph.D. in 1983, both from Rutgers University
.
. He became an assistant professor of history before leaving in 1985.
In 1984, Freeman obtained a position as a senior research scholar at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Freeman left CUNY in 1987 and was appointed an assistant professor at Columbia University
. He became an associate professor in 1991.
In 1998, Freeman returned to CUNY, becoming an associate professor at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center. He was named a full professor in 2001.
and the sociology
of working class people. He writes from a "new labor history
" theoretical perspective.
Two of Freeman's books have drawn notice from the academic community.
Freeman's 1988 book, In Transit: The Transport Workers Union in New York City, 1933-1966, won the Philip Taft Labor History Book Award
in 1989. The book was widely reviewed and praised for unearthing the history of a radical union important in the history of the American labor movement.
Freeman's 2000 book, Working-Class New York: Life and Labor Since World War II, also won positive reviews. Freeman intended that the book correct histories of New York City which focused on wealthy elites, elected leaders and organizations. Throughout the first half of the book, Freeman argues that everyday workers were at least as influential as these other groups in making New York City into a progressive bastion and world economic and cultural center. Freeman
The book was not as well-received as In Transit, however. Some critics argued that Freeman too easily dismissed conservative and anti-communist forces active in New York City at the time, wasting a chance to explain why leftist labor unions were able to overcome them and implement much of their agenda.
' New York: A Documentary Film
. From 2001 to 2004, he wrote the "Our Living Tradition" column for the TWU Local 100 Express.
He is also an editor for New Labor Forum
and the journal International Labor and Working-Class History.
His book In Transit won the Philip Taft Labor History Book Award in 1989 as the best book relating to the history of United States labor.
His book Working-Class New York won the New York Society Library Book Award in 2000 for the best work of historical importance that evoked the spirit or enhanced appreciation for New York City.
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
at Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, located in Flushing, Queens, New York City, is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. It is also the fifth oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning. The college's seventy seven acre campus is located in the heart of the...
(CUNY) and the CUNY Graduate Center
CUNY Graduate Center
The Graduate Center of the City University of New York brings together graduate education, advanced research, and public programming to midtown Manhattan hosting 4,600 students, 33 doctoral programs, 7 master's programs, and 30 research centers and institutes...
. He is the former executive officer of the Graduate Center's history department. Freeman is often called the "dean of new york writers."
Childhood and education
Freeman was born in 1949 in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
parents. His grandfather was very active in the American labor movement
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, and politically active. His parents' and grandparents' influence left him deeply aware of what it meant to be working class. As a youth, he often explored working class neighborhoods and felt a deep affinity for other similarly situated people.
Freeman obtained a bachelor's degree
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...
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.
He obtained a 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 1976 and a Ph.D. in 1983, both from Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
.
Career
In 1981, Freeman became an instructor at State University of New York at Old WestburyState University of New York at Old Westbury
The State University of New York College at Old Westbury is a university college that is part of the State University of New York system. The college is in Old Westbury, New York, with portions in the neighboring town of Jericho, New York...
. He became an assistant professor of history before leaving in 1985.
In 1984, Freeman obtained a position as a senior research scholar at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Freeman left CUNY in 1987 and was appointed an assistant professor at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He became an associate professor in 1991.
In 1998, Freeman returned to CUNY, becoming an associate professor at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center. He was named a full professor in 2001.
Research
Freeman's research focuses on 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...
and the sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
of working class people. He writes from a "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....
" theoretical perspective.
Two of Freeman's books have drawn notice from the academic community.
Freeman's 1988 book, In Transit: The Transport Workers Union in New York City, 1933-1966, won the Philip Taft Labor History Book Award
Philip Taft Labor History Book Award
The Philip Taft Labor History Book Award is sponsored by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations in cooperation with the Labor and Working-Class History Association for books relating to labor history of the United States...
in 1989. The book was widely reviewed and praised for unearthing the history of a radical union important in the history of the American labor movement.
- In Transit is a richly detailed and analytically sophisticated book about a remarkable organization, the Transport Workers Union (TWU), in New York City in the heyday of industrial unionism in the 1930s and 1940s. The overall story of the TWU's development is closely intertwined with New York and New Deal politics, the emergence of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and its bitter internecine quarrel with the American Federation of Labor, and the impact of the Second World War and the early Cold War on American society. But the most important -- and most fascinating -- of the book's many threads concerns the relationship between the TWU's Communist leadership and the union's Irish Catholic, and predominantly conservative, membership. Joshua Freeman engagingly demonstrates how this unlikely bond developed in the 1930s, and how it finally came unraveled in the dramatically altered political climate of the late 1940s.
Freeman's 2000 book, Working-Class New York: Life and Labor Since World War II, also won positive reviews. Freeman intended that the book correct histories of New York City which focused on wealthy elites, elected leaders and organizations. Throughout the first half of the book, Freeman argues that everyday workers were at least as influential as these other groups in making New York City into a progressive bastion and world economic and cultural center. Freeman
- argues that the strength of organized labor and its continued political influence in the three decades following World War II were largely responsible for the rise of a social democratic politics that made the city special. The presence of organized labor, Freeman says, even gave the city its "cultural greatness." ... While little that is dramatically new is revealed here, Freeman's account is an important reminder that social policy is not made simply by political elites.
The book was not as well-received as In Transit, however. Some critics argued that Freeman too easily dismissed conservative and anti-communist forces active in New York City at the time, wasting a chance to explain why leftist labor unions were able to overcome them and implement much of their agenda.
Memberships and awards
Freeman is popular commentator on labor history on radio and television. He appeared in Ric BurnsRic Burns
Ric Burns is an American documentary filmmaker and writer. He has written, directed and produced historical documentaries for nearly 20 years, beginning with his collaboration on the celebrated PBS series The Civil War , which he produced with his older brother Ken Burns and wrote with Geoffrey C...
' New York: A Documentary Film
New York: A Documentary Film
New York: A Documentary Film is an eight-part, 17½ hour, American documentary film on the history of New York City. It was directed by Ric Burns and originally aired in the U.S. on PBS. The film was a co-production of Thirteen New York and WGBH Boston....
. From 2001 to 2004, he wrote the "Our Living Tradition" column for the TWU Local 100 Express.
He is also an editor for New Labor Forum
New Labor Forum
New Labor Forum is a labor journal founded in the Fall of 1997 by the Center for Labor, Community, and Policy Studies, at the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies of the City University of New York...
and the journal International Labor and Working-Class History.
His book In Transit won the Philip Taft Labor History Book Award in 1989 as the best book relating to the history of United States labor.
His book Working-Class New York won the New York Society Library Book Award in 2000 for the best work of historical importance that evoked the spirit or enhanced appreciation for New York City.
Solely authored books
- In Transit: The Transport Workers Union in New York City, 1933-1966. New ed., with new epilogue. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001. ISBN 156639922X
- Working-Class New York: Life and Labor Since World War II. New York: The New Press, 2000. ISBN 1565845757
Co-authored books
- Lichtenstein, Nelson, et al. Who Built America? Vol. 2: From 1877 to Present. 2nd ed. New York: Pantheon Books, 2001. ISBN 1572593032
Co-edited books
- Fraser, Steven and Freeman, Joshua B., eds. Audacious Democracy: Labor, Intellectuals, and the Social Renewal of America. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. ISBN 0395866820
Solely authored book chapters
- "Catholics, Communists, and Republicans: Irish Workers and the Organization of the Transport Workers Union." In Working-Class America: Essays on Labor, Community, and American Society. Daniel Walkowitz and Michael Frisch, eds. Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1983. ISBN 0252009533
- "Labor During the American Century: Work, Workers, and Unions Since 1945." In A Companion to Post-1945 America. Roy Rosenzweig and Jean-Christophe Agnew, eds. Boston, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing, 2002. ISBN 0631223258
Solely authored articles
- "Anatomy of a Strike: New York City Transit Workers Confront the Power Elite." New Labor Forum. Fall 2006.
- "A Fight for the Future." The Nation. December 22, 2005.
- "Hardhats: Construction Workers, Manliness, and the 1970 Pro-War Demonstrations." Journal of Social History. June 1993.
- "Putting Conservatism Back into the 1960s." Radical History Review. Spring 1989.
- "Red New York." Monthly Review. July/August 2002.
- "The Strike Weapon: Can it Still Work?" Dissent. Spring 1997.
- "Structure and Culture in the Labor Market." Labor History. Winter 1994.
- "The Thirteenth Amendment is No Magic Bullet: Joshua B. Freeman Replies to Mark Dudzic." New Labor Forum. Spring 2005.
Co-authored articles
- Freeman, Joshua B. and Rosswurm, Steven. "The Education of an Anti-Communist: Father John F. Cronin and the Baltimore Labor Movement." Labor History. Summer 1992.