The New Left Revisited

John McMillian teaches History and Literature at Harvard University and is co-editor with Timothy Patrick McCarthy, of The Radical Reader: A Documentary Anthology of American Radical History (forthcoming).Paul Buhle is Lecturer in the American civilization department at Brown University. His most recent book (co-authored with Dave Wagner) is Radical Hollywood: The Untold Story Behind America's Favorite Movies. He writes for The Nation, The Guardian, and The Times Higher Education Supplement, among other publications. He is also editor of History and the New Left: Madison, Wisconsin, 1950-1970 (Temple).Contributors: David Cochran, Michael S. Foley, Jennifer Frost, Andrew Hunt, Ian Lekus, Peter Levy, Robbie Lieberman, Kevin Mattson, David McBride, Gregg Michel, Francesca Polletta, Doug Rossinow, Jeremy Varon, and the editors.

Starting with the premise that it is possible to say something significantly new about the 1960s and the New Left, the contributors to this volume trace the social roots, the various paths, and the legacies of the movement that set out to change America. As members of a younger generation of scholars, none of them (apart from Paul Buhle) has first-hand knowledge of the era. Their perspective as non-participants enables them to offer fresh interpretations of the regional and ideological differences that have been obscured in the standard histories and memoirs of the period. Reflecting the diversity of goals, the clashes of opinions, and the tumult of the time, these essays will engage seasoned scholars as well as students of the '60s.

Introduction ¿ John McMillianPart I: Local Studies, Local Stories1. "It Seemed Like a Very Local Affair": The 1960s Student Movement at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale ¿ Robbie Lieberman and David Cochran2. Between Despair and Hope: Studies on the Left and the Historical Legacy of the New Left ¿ Kevin Mattson3. Building the New South: The Southern Student Organizing Committee ¿ Gregg Michel4. The Black Freedom Struggle and White Resistance: A Case Study of the Civil Rights Movement inCambridge, Maryland ¿ Peter Levy5. Organizing from the Bottom Up: Lillian Craig, Dovie Thurman, and the New Left in the 1960s ¿ Jennifer Frost6. Death City Radicals: The Counterculture in the New Left in 1960s Los Angeles ¿ David McBridePart II: Reconsiderations7. How New Was the New Left?: Re-Thinking New Left Exceptionalism ¿ Andrew Hunt8. Strategy and Democracy in the New Left ¿ Francesca Polletta9. The "Point of Ultimate Indignity" or a "Beloved Community"?: The Draft Resistance Movement and New Left Gender Dynamics ¿ Michael S. Foley10. Losing Our Kids: Queer Perspectives on the Chicago Seven Conspiracy Trial ¿ Ian Lekus11. Between Revolution 9 and Thesis 11: Or, Will We Learn (Again) to Start Worrying and Change the World? ¿ Jeremy Varon12. Letting Go: Revisiting the New Left's Demise ¿ Doug RossinowAfterword ¿ Paul BuhleAbout the Contributors