Melvyn Dubofsky
Melvyn Dubofsky (born October 25, 1934) is professor emeritus of history and sociology, and a well-known labor historian. He is Bartle Distinguished Professor of History and Sociology at the Binghamton University. Dubofsky helped advance the field of "new labor history," which focuses on the experiences of workers and social movements rather than institutions. Since the early 1980s, Dubofsky has written extensively about the role of politics and state action in the changing fortunes of the American labor movement. Dubofsky promotes the theory that labor radicalism emerged from what has been termed a "culture of poverty," and he stresses the role culture and the development of capitalism play in the American labor movement-particularly in the late 19th century. Dubofsky's research has influenced other scholars, such as Joseph McCartin. Dubofsky has also worked closely with the Fernand Braudel Center at Binghamton. His research at the center has looked at how changing technology, such as automation, has driven worker activism. Early life and education Dubofsky was born in 1934 to Harry and Lillian (Schneider) Dubofsky in New York City. He graduated from the New York City public schools, and received his bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College (now part of the City University of New York) in 1955. Dubofsky was a lecturer in history at Brooklyn College during the 1958 to 1959 school year. He married Joan Klores in January 1959, and they had two children, David and Lisa. He received a doctor of philosophy degree from the University of Rochester in 1960. Career Dubofsky was appointed an assistant professor of history at Northern Illinois University in 1959. In 1967, Dubofsky took a position as an associate professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He left that position in 1969. In the 1969 to 1970 term, Dubofsky was a senior lecturer at the Centre for the Study of Social History at the University of Warwick. He taught American labor history. The same year, he was an associate professor of history at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He was promoted to professor of history in late 1970. In 1971, Dubofsky was appointed professor of history at the State University of New York at Binghamton. In 1979, he was also appointed professor of sociology. In 1991, he was named Bartle Distinguished Professor of History & Sociology. Published works Solely authored books American Labor Since the New Deal. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1971. Big Bill Haywood. Manchester, U.K.: University of Manchester Press, 1987. Hard Work: The Making of Labor History. Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, Spring 2000. Industrialism and the American Worker, 1865–1920. 3rd ed. Wheeling, Ill.: Harlan Davidson, 1996. Labor in the Great Depression and the New Deal. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxford, U.K.: Routledge, 2005. "On Treacherous Terrain: Labor, Politics, and the State in the United States." Working Paper No. 3, Comparative Labor History Series, Center for Labor Studies, University of Washington. November 1993. The State and Labor in Modern America. Asheville, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1994. Technological Change and Workers' Movements. Thousand