Daniel J. Walkowitz Papers
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Abstract
Daniel J. Walkowitz is a professor Emeritus of history and metropolitan studies at New York University who specializes in labor history, urban history, and public history. His papers contain research files related to his books Working with Class and City Folk, as well as scripts, grant proposals, correspondence, and recordings related to several historical films Walkowitz produced. The collection also contains a small amount of Walkowitz's teaching materials which consist of syllabi, course lists, lecture notes, and files related to departmental programs.
Biographical Note
Daniel J. Walkowitz is a professor Emeritus of history and metropolitan studies at New York University. He received his doctorate from the University of Rochester in 1972 where he studied under labor historian Herbert Gutman. He began teaching history at New York University in 1978 specializing in labor history, urban history, and public history. He co-founded NYU's graduate public history program in 1981 and also headed the undergraduate program in metropolitan studies. Combing history with an interest in filmmaking, Walkowitz co-directed several historical documentaries and dramatizations for PBS with NYU media studies Professor Barbara Abrash, including The Molders of Troy, which drew upon Walkowitz's doctoral research and his 1978 book, Worker City, Company Town. His other books include Workers of the Donbass Speak: Survival and Identity in the New Ukraine, with Lewis H. Siegelbaum, 1995; Working with Class: Social Workers and the Politics of Middle Class Identity, 1999; and City Folk: English Country Dance and the Politics of the Folk in Modern America, 2010. He adapted City Folk into a documentary in 2014.
Arrangement
Materials in this collection have been maintained in the arrangement established by the creator. Three distinct groupings related to the different aspects of Walkowitz's work as an historian have been identified: research files, public history films and televisions programs, and teaching materials.
Scope and Contents
The Daniel J. Walkowitz Papers (dates 1967-2007) contain papers and video recordings related to the academic work and public history projects of historian and New York University professor Daniel J. Walkowitz. His papers include research files related to his book, Working with Class, concerning social work and Jewish philanthropic organizations in New York City from the 1910s to the 1960s. These files contain photocopies from archival collections of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, Jewish Board of Guardians, and the Social Service Employees' Union as well as newspaper clippings and secondary articles related to the topic. The files were compiled in the late 1980s and early 1990s and also contain Walkowitz's handwritten notes. Other research files in this collection relate to English folk dancing in the United States, and include transcripts of original oral history interviews, the majority of which were conducted by Walkowitz. The interviews date from 1999 and 2004, and were collected as research for his book City Folk. The collection also contains materials related to Walkowitz's historical films. These materials include copies of National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant proposals, scripts, correspondence with collaborators, notes, research, and budgets. Films most prominently represented in this collection include Molders of Troy, Sisters, and Perestroika from Below, documenting iron workers in Troy, NY; class and gender in America; and a 1989 mass strike of mine workers in the Soviet Union. Walkowitz worked on these projects with his colleague Barbara Abrash from 1979 through the 1990s under the name Past Time Productions. Recordings of Molders of Troy and Perestroika from Below are included in the collection on reel-to-reel, VHS, and DVD. Additionally the collection contains a small amount of Walkowitz's teaching materials which consist of syllabi, course lists, lecture notes, and files related to departmental programs.
Subjects
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restriction with the exception of student records in box 8. Access to box 8 is restricted.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Daniel J. Walkowitz Papers; TAM 671; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library & Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Daniel J. Walkowitz in 2015. The accession number associated with this gift is 2015.029. An accretion was donated in January 2023; the accession number associated with this gift is 2023.013.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
About this Guide
Processing Information
At the time of accessioning materials in this collection were moved into archival boxes, but original folders have been maintained. Materials have largely been retained in the order in which they were received. Several groupings of files, which were spread across several boxes, were reunited upon rehousing when a clear original order that had been disrupted was apparent.
In April 2025, a typo in the inventory regarding the box number of the interview transcript was corrected.
Revisions to this Guide
Repository
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Research Files: Social Work, 1987-1996, inclusive
Research Files: English Folk Dance and City Folk, 1992-2008, inclusive
Public History Television Programs: Scripts and Research Materials, 1976-1999, inclusive
Public History Television Program Recordings: Molders of Troy, 1980
Public History Television Program Recordings: Perestroika From Below, 1990, 2012, inclusive
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Researchers must use access copies to view these materials. Advanced notice is required.
