Scope and arrangement
The Martin B. Duberman papers, which date from 1917 to 2023, cover Duberman's professional career and personal life. The collection illustrates his contributions as a historian, scholar, author, playwright, and activist, as well as Duberman's personal experience as a gay man living in New York City during the latter half of the 20th and early part of the 21st centuries.
Duberman is a prolific letter writer and a self-described compulsive diarist. Correspondence and diaries spanning most of Duberman's life offer intimate insights into his thinking, writing process, and interaction with other writers, publishers, scholars, students, activists, friends, family, and romantic partners, while providing a continuous view of his everyday life over many decades. These letters and diaries served as primary source material for Duberman in the course of writing several autobiographies.
Duberman's written works, including his published non-fiction and fiction books, plays, and shorter works written or edited by him, are well represented in the collection in the Writings series. Some unpublished, fragmentary, or abandoned writing projects are also present. Duberman wrote across multiple disciplines and for a wider audience than is typical for academics. Frequent themes include American radicalism, the Civil Rights Movement, educational reform, and LGBTQ+ rights.
The Teaching series reflects Duberman's time as a college professor, primarily at Yale, Princeton, and Herbert Lehman College, City University of New York (CUNY). This series holds lecture notes and syllabi from classes he taught. It also documents Duberman's experimental and innovative approaches to teaching and resulting conflicts with other faculty members and university administrators.
The establishment of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies, the first academic LGBTQ+ research center in the United States, is primarily documented in the Organizations series. Other academic, activist, or cultural groups Duberman participated in, such as Queers for Economic Justice, REDRESS, and the New Dramatists Board, are also represented in this series.
The rest of the collection consists of items related to Duberman's family, childhood, and youth, and includes scrapbooks, photographs, and audio and moving image recordings.
The Martin B. Duberman papers are arranged in nine series:
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1930s-202328.33 linear feet (70 boxes). 540.0 kilobytes (418 computer files)
Duberman was a prolific letter writer throughout his life, which is illustrated through correspondence that cover everything from major life events to routine details. The majority of letters in Series I are incoming, but a significant number of copies of Duberman's outgoing letters and replies are also included. Outgoing letters especially display Duberman's writing style, communication skills, political stances, personal relationships, professional collaborations, and emotional cycles. This series documents the progression of Duberman's academic career, his activity as a playwright, and his work on behalf of LGBTQ+ rights. Correspondence is with fellow scholars, writers, students, editors, publishers, theatrical producers and directors, numerous gay rights organizations and activists, personal friends, romantic partners, and members of the general public.
The bulk of the family, personal, and academic/professional correspondence grouped at the start of Series I dates from the 1930s through the early 1960s. Family correspondence contains letters Duberman wrote as a child to his parents from summer camp stays; post-cards and letters Duberman sent from various summer trips including an American Youth Hostels cross-country bicycle tour in 1948; and letters to and from his family during his time as an undergraduate at Yale. Family correspondence after 1961 is sparse, consisting of letters from his mother, his aunt Teresa "Tedda" Bauml, and his sister Lucile Belden (later Milberg). Academic/Professional correspondence in this section documents the beginning of Duberman's writing, academic, and theatrical careers. Correspondence with Richard Challener, Laurence Stone, R.R. Palmer, and Edward Sullivan detail Duberman's clash with the Princeton administration and history department over his experimental seminars. See also Series IV: Teaching. Correspondence with Duberman's editors at Houghton-Mifflin, Random House, E.P. Dutton, and Chelsea House and his literary agent at the Sterling Lord Agency is present. See also the publishers section of Series II: Writings. Other later family, personal, academic or professional correspondence is not separated topically and is arranged chronologically. Printed emails comprise most correspondence from about 2006 onward.
Significant topics addressed in the chronologically arranged group of correspondence include: pedagogical discussions and the development of his own teaching methods; the many productions of his play, In White America, and public reaction to it; his published critiques of the history profession; and his essays defending student radicalism. There is also correspondence with Eugene Genovese, Christopher Lasch, Howard Zinn, and other radical historians discussing the New Left, each other's work, and attempts to organize as a force within the American Historical Association. After 1972, much correspondence concerns Duberman's efforts on behalf of gay rights, gay publications and organizations, such as the National Gay Task Force and Gay Academic Union; his writing on homosexuality and related topics in the popular press; and initiatives to combat discrimination against gay people in academia.
Letters from scholars concern the sharing of information on common research topics; commentary on each other's work; the climate at different colleges; and requests to contribute essays to books, participate in symposia, or arrange speaking engagements. Numerous letters from students contain requests for personal and academic advice, and job and school recommendations. There are also letters from students regarding the progress of their research and their struggles to find jobs. These letters evidence the friendly, supportive and informal relationship Duberman had with many of his students.
Other notable correspondents include: Dennis Altman, Eric Bentley, John Boswell, Fawn Brodie, Howard Brown, Charlotte Bunch, L.H. Butterfield, Louis Crompton, David Davis, David Donald, Leon Edel, Larry Gara, Frank Gatell, Richard Goldstein, Richard Hall, Oscar Handlin, Bertha Harris, James Leo Herlihy, Laura Z. Hobson, Richard Hofstadter, John Holt, Holly Hughes, Karla Jay, Judson Jerome, Jonathan Ned Katz, Larry Kramer, Jesse Lemisch, Ellen Levine, Staughton Lynd, Lawrence Mass, James McPherson, Robert Middlekauff, Pauli Murray, Joan Nestle, Robert Patrick, Richard Plant, John Preston, David Potter, Willie Lee Rose, Louis Ruchames, Vito Russo, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Greta Schiller, Alisa Solomon, Catharine Stimpson, Thomas Stoddard, John Stoltenberg, C.A. Tripp, Carole Vance, William Ward, George Whitmore, Jonathan Williams, Alfred Young, Allan Young, and Perry Deane Young.
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circa 1930s-202328.71 linear feet (74 boxes). 198.7 kilobytes (14 computer files)
Series II contains files on nearly all of Duberman's historical, critical, literary, and autobiographical writings, from early in his career through 2023. Files in this series typically hold some combination of manuscripts, typescripts, galleys, drafts, notes, related correspondence, reviews, research material, and publisher files.
Among Duberman's non-fiction books are numerous biographies, including those of: Charles Francis Adams, Sr. (1961), James Russell Lowell (1966), Paul Robeson (1989), Lincoln Kirstein (2007), Howard Zinn (2012), and Andrea Dworkin (2020). Other non-fiction titles covered in this series include Black Mountain (1972) and Hold Tight Gently: Michael Callen, Essex Hemphill, and the Battlefield of AIDS (2015).
Duberman has written far fewer fiction titles. Two of his historical fiction books are represented: Haymarket (2003) and Jews Queers Germans (2017).
Well-represented within the plays section of this series is Duberman's first play, In White America, written in 1963. Other plays for which scripts or related material are included in this section are: Metaphors (1968), The Memory Bank (1970), Payments (1971), Visions of Kerouac (1977) and Mother Earth (1991).
Duberman has also written essays, book reviews, and theater criticism, which can be found in the shorter works section. Many shorter works were also published in The Uncompleted Past (1969), Left Out (2002), The Martin Duberman Reader (2013), and The Line of Dissent: Gay Outsiders and the Shaping of History (2023), which all have files within the non-fiction section. Poetry, short stories, scholarly articles, letters to the editor, and speeches are also held in the shorter works section.
Besides Duberman's published book-length works, plays, and shorter works, the series holds files of research material; notes; fragmentary drafts; material from publishers, including contracts for selected titles; and a few files of written work by others. Notable among the research materials are notes and interviews Duberman gathered regarding Edward Sagarin, also known as Donald Webster Cory, an early gay rights advocate who later reversed his stance.
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1962-20214.08 linear feet (7 boxes)
Series III primarily holds handwritten diaries in half-letter size spiral-bound notebooks, as well as a significant quantity of typed diary entries on loose pages. All notebook diaries and some loose diary entries are dated. Diary entries from 1958 through 1971 are sparse and mostly typed on loose pages. In 1972 Duberman began keeping daily diaries in notebooks. The pace of notebook entries becomes brisker during the 1980s, when some years fill multiple notebooks.
Duberman uses the diaries as a space to reflect upon current events in the world and in his own life, to develop ideas, and work through personal feelings. He drew upon these diaries as primary source material over the years as he wrote several memoirs: Cures; Midlife Queer; Waiting to Land; The Rest of It: Hustlers, Cocaine, Depression, and Then Some, 1976–1988; and Reaching Ninety.
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1957-20222.5 linear feet (6 boxes)
Series IV reflects Duberman's professional academic career, primarily his time as a professor at Yale University, Princeton University, and Lehman College (CUNY). This series contains lecture notes, examinations, class assignments, syllabi, and other materials from courses Duberman taught.
There is considerable material regarding Duberman's experimental seminars on the history of American radicalism and related strife with the Princeton administration over his freedom to try innovative approaches to teaching. The conflict is documented in correspondence with the history faculty and administrators, internal memoranda, and articles from The Daily Princetonian.
A senior thesis by Princeton student Peter W. Janney about the American Radicalism seminar as well as transcripts of discussions with Duberman about the course is included. See also Series VIII: Audio Recordings.
The series also contains files on a course Duberman taught at Hunter College and material on an honorary degree he received from Amherst College in the 2010s.
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1972-20235.63 linear feet (14 boxes). 1.8 kilobytes (2 computer files)
Series V holds files on activist, cultural, and academic organizations that Duberman participated in, belonged to, served on the boards of, or founded. The series contains general mailings, printed material, meeting minutes, press releases, memoranda, and other records.
The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) is thoroughly documented here, from work to establish CLAGS in the late 1980s through 1991 to Duberman's time serving as executive director and afterwards. The series also includes files on REDRESS, a group of prominent Americans formed to demand an end to the Vietnam War; the Gay Academic Union, an organization of gay and lesbian university professors; and the National Gay Task Force (later renamed National LGBTQ Task Force); the New Dramatists Board; and Queers for Economic Justice.
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1930s-20237.79 linear feet (20 boxes)
Series VI contains memorabilia accumulated by Duberman over the course of his life, including family mementos and documents; juvenile writings and sketches; high school and college report cards, yearbooks, school newspapers and literary magazines; commencement programs; class written assignments and examinations. There are also programs, photographs, and reviews of school plays in which Duberman acted, and scrapbooks documenting his trips to Europe in college. See also Series IX: Moving Image Recordings for home movies.
Also present in this series are souvenirs of Duberman's literary career, represented through scrapbooks, press clippings and ephemera. In addition to clippings of articles about or mentioning Duberman, typescripts of interviews with him are also held here. See also Series VIII: Audio Recordings for taped interviews of Duberman.
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1930s-20212.04 linear feet (7 boxes)
Series VII holds photographs of Martin Duberman, his family, and friends. Formats include black and white and color prints, 35mm slides, and negatives. There are snapshots, candid and formal portraits, and group portraits taken throughout his life. Duberman's youthful activities are particularly well documented in pictures from Camp Idylwold, the MacArthur Summer Theater Camp, his American Youth Hostels cross-country bicycle trip, and other summer activities. Among the later materials are portraits taken for book jackets and promotional purposes, informal photographs of Duberman with board members of the National Gay Task Force, CLAGS, and with his partner Eli Zal.
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1948-2021242 audio recordings
Series VII: Audio Recordings primarily encompass interviews, radio appearances by Duberman, performances of his plays, discussions, and lectures. Both interviews conducted by Duberman as research for his work and interviews of Duberman about his work are present. Interviews conducted as research for Paul Robeson, Stonewall, and The Worlds of Lincoln Kirstein are found in the nonfiction section of this series. See also the nonfiction section of Series II: Writings. Many recordings are radio programs where Duberman discusses and promotes his books. Also present are some recordings of Duberman speaking live at public appearances and few workshop readings or performances of his plays. Also included is a recording made at the 25th wedding anniversary of Duberman's parents in 1948.
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1930-201765 moving image recordings
The moving image recordings primarily encompass television appearances by Duberman, his public speaking engagements, and home movies from the 1930s through the 1950s. Television appearances include many interviews with Duberman about his books, especially Paul Robeson, as well as Duberman commenting on news programs in his capacity as a historian. Home movies include Duberman's first birthday, his college graduation, his trips to Europe in 1950 and 1951, and his parents 25th wedding anniversary. This series also includes some moving image recordings related to Eli Zal, Martin Duberman's life partner, and some recordings Duberman viewed for research purposes.