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Christopher Lasch papers

 Collection
Identifier: D.250

Biographical / Historical note

Christopher Lasch (1932-1994) was a historian, moralist, social and political critic, and professor in postwar America. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Rhodes Scholar and Pulitzer-winning journalist Robert Lasch and social worker and teacher Zora Lasch (née Schaupp), who additionally held a doctorate in philosophy, Lasch grew up in a secular, highly intellectual family with a strong emphasis on political criticism. He wrote the Rumpelstiltskin, Opera in D Major when he was just thirteen. After accepting a position with the Chicago Sun Lasch's father moved the family to Chicago, where Lasch would graduate from Barrington High School.

Lasch pursued a bachelor's degree in history at Harvard University before earning a masters' and PhD at Columbia University, again in history. After beginning his post-doctoral career as a professor of history at the University of Iowa, he taught briefly at Northwestern University before joining the History Department of the University of Rochester. He would serve as a professor of history at UR for nearly twenty-five years, until his death from cancer in 1994.

Throughout his professional life Lasch remained an active and high-profile figure in the public arena, publishing many works of political and social criticism which blended historical and philosophical perspectives with his interpretation of modern social issues. His work was particularly characterized by analysis of the widening gap between socio-intellectual classes, their political and economic influence, the inequalities of meritocratic capitalism, and the resulting affects of this system of disparities on the family, social progress, and democracy. His published books include The American Liberals and the Russian Revolution (1962), The New Radicalism in America 1889-1963: The Intellectual as a Social Type (1965), The Agony of the American Left (1969), Haven in a Heartless World: The Family Besieged (1977), The Culture of Narcisissm (1979), The Revolt of the Elites: And the Betrayal of Democracy (1994), and Women and the Common Life: Love, Marriage, and Feminism (1997, posthumous, with an introduction by his daughter).

Scope and Contents

The Christopher Lasch collection consists of over seventy boxes of Lasch's papers, including eleven boxes of general correspondence; thirty-five boxes of manuscripts, typescripts, notes, and correspondence relating to Lasch's major publications and speaking engagements; eleven boxes of academic lecture notes; four boxes of student files with correspondence and related material; and seven boxes of early typescripts, manuscripts and notes.

Much of the collection dates from the last ten years of Lasch's life, but the years between Lasch's admission as an undergraduate to Harvard in 1950 and his appointment as chair of the Rochester Department of History in 1985 are also well represented. The guide to the register provides more specific information about the organization of the collection and the nature of the available material.

Special features of the collection include: rough drafts of Lasch's college papers (including his honors and graduate theses), lectures, and publications; boxes of notes for major works such as The Culture of Narcissism and The True and Only Heaven; numerous unpublished drafts in manuscript and typescript form; clippings of Lasch's published reviews and essays (and copies of scholarly reviews of his own work); and correspondence with family, friends, publishers, colleagues, and prominent American and European intellectuals.

Scope and Contents

Series I: General Correspondence: Lasch alphabetically filed his correspondence in annual and biennial letterboxes. (His earliest box included letters from 1956-1961.) Letters from each box are filed in stricter alphabetical and chronological order, but Lasch's filing system has not been modified nor has anything substantial been transferred from the boxes to a different part of the collection.

The files in this section consist of all the materials removed from letterboxes spanning 1956-1992. The files generally include: 1.) letters to Lasch; 2.) carbon copies [and xerox copies from ca 1982-] of letters from Lasch; 3.) additional material received from the correspondent.

Lasch alphabetized most of this correspondence according to the first initial of the last name of the correspondent, but he also indexed a considerable amount of correspondence under single subject headings, such as "C" for Columbia University, or "F" for the Ford Foundation. He also often filed letters from multiple correspondents under a single name heading. This makes the collection initially difficult to use, but a careful examination of the papers should make its logic apparent.

Each entry on this register is followed by a colon. The total number of letters to and from Lasch is immediately listed, followed by: 1.) a general description of additional materials included 2.) a total page estimate (a two-sided letter counting as two pages) and 3.) the dates of inclusion. In cases where disparate correspondence is filed under a single subject or name heading, I have separated the entries with semicolons. Unless otherwise specified, assume that all typed and handwritten letters ( "TLS" or "ALS") are addressed to Lasch from the originally listed correspondent, and "carbon responses" from Lasch to that correspondent.

In order to save space, generic terms such as "attachment" and "enclosure" are often used to descibe the miscellaneous papers accompanying general correspondence. Drafts written by Lasch are identified in this section with a "CL" prefix. Other drafts are the work of the listed correspondent. Unless otherwise noted, assume that letter of reference (l.o.r.) entries on this register describe copies of Lasch's letters written on behalf of the listed correspondent (and usually addressed to standard fellowship agencies).


Not all surnames for all of the letters in the collection could be determined. Unidentified correspondence from 1956-1993 is chronologically arranged in one folder in box 7d. Box 7d also includes letters from and to William Taylor. (This correspondence had originally been kept in a separate file by Lasch.)

Final Note: Please examine the abbreviations key before working with this finding aid.

Series IIa: Publications and Conference Material, 1956-1994 (includes Notes, Drafts, Clippings, and Related Correspondence)

Series IIb: Publications Material, 1983-1994: The materials in these sections consist primarily of Lasch's published and unpublished papers and public lectures. Section IIa includes notes and drafts of The American Liberals and the Russian Revolution, The New Radicalism in America, The Agony of the American Left, The World of Nations, Haven in a Heartless World, and The Culture of Narcissism. In addition, this section also includes clippings and drafts of published reviews and essays, conference lecture materials, and unpublished academic and political works. Series IIb includes notes and drafts of The Minimal Self, The True and Only Heaven, and The Revolt of the Elites. (Note there is a significant amount of correspondence in both of these sections.)

As in Series I, Lasch's original method of organization has been preserved as best possible. All of his folder titles have been used; a description of the contents of each file is provided [inside brackets.] The correspondence has been chronologically organized and drafts have been made more easily accessible in each respective folder, but notes and other materials remain mostly in their original state.

A less specific cataloguing system has been used to describe the correspondence in this section. In some instances, the total number of letters along with page estimates and dates of inclusion has been listed.Usually, letter exchanges are generically described as "correspondence with" (corr. w.) the listed correspondent(s), followed by dates and a page estimate.

"Typescript" and "typsescript with manuscript revisions" (typs. and typs. w. manu. rev.) refer to typed drafts. The term "manuscript" (mss.) is used to describe handwritten drafts of subsequently published works; "notes," conversely, refers to all other typed and/or written materials. Since Lasch often wrote original passages on the back of airline receipts, it was ultimately difficult to make firm distinctions between manuscript drafts and research notes.

Page number estimates and dates for some of the manuscripts and typescripts have been provided. In those instances where Lasch included clippings and/or whole copies of his published reviews and essays in a folder, the name of the journal and its date of publication have been provided in brackets on the register.

Series III: Academic Lecture Notes: The lecture notes in this series have been arranged in chronological order, although some exceptions have been made to keep together similar topical material. Most folders contain a combination of typed and handwritten lecture notes (usually on 8.5/ 11 inch paper), book notes, miscellaneous course syllabi, carbon copies of summary grade reports, and xeroxed class articles. The term "notes" is used more liberally in this section to denote all such academic materials. As in Series II, brackets are used to separate the description of the folder contents from Lasch's titles, and the correspondence is listed with page number estimates and dates of inclusion.

Series IV: Student Files: Folders in this section include: letter of recommendation copies; correspondence with students, faculty, and administrators; copies of abstracts, Lasch's paper evaluations, dissertation proposals, etc. The folders in this section contain a lot of mundane student correspondence. Most of it has not been listed on the register, but the names of some of his more prominent correspondents have been provided [inside brackets.] For especially large collections, the page number estimates and dates of inclusion are also given.

Series V: Early Notes and Typescripts: Includes Lasch's masters thesis, undergraduate papers, and New Radicalism and American Liberals materials (cross-listed with relevant files from Series IIa). The format of this part of the register is similar to Series II.

Series VI: Fiction and Miscellany: This section consists of Lasch's unpublished fiction and miscellaneous material filed here after the bulk of the paper collection had already been allocated to particular boxes. Cross-listings are provided wherever needed. The format of this part of the register is similar to Section II.

Series VII: Juvenalia and Other Kinds of Materials: Includes early photographs, elementary school papers, audio and visual cassettes, etc.

Creator

Dates

  • Creation: 1939-1994

Language of Materials

English

Extent

74 box(es)

Access

The Christopher Lasch Papers are open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books Special Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.

Use

In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Christopher Lasch Papers were a gift from Nell Commager Lasch, the historian's wife, in August, 1996, with an accrual from Professor Robert Westbrook in 2015.

Preferred Citation

[Item title, item date], Christopher Lasch Papers, D.250, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Chronology

1898--Lasch's mother, Zora Schaupp Lasch, born in Nebraska

1907--Lasch's father, Robert Lasch, born in Lincoln, Nebraska

1925--Lasch's mother, Zora Schaupp Lasch, receives PhD from Bryn Mawr; later teaches philosophy and logic at the University of Nebraska, Washington University, and the University of Missouri, St. Louis

1928-1930--Lasch's father, Robert Lasch, attends Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar; soon becomes reporter and editorial writer for the Omaha World-Herald, 1931-41

1932, June 1--Robert Christopher Lasch born in Omaha, Nebraska

1942--Moves with family to Chicago; father becomes editorial writer on Chicago Sun

1950--Graduates from Barrington High School, Barrington (a Chicago suburb)

1950--Family moves to St. Louis; father works for The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

1950--Enrolls at Harvard College in the fall

1954--Receives Bowdoin Prize for honors senior thesis, "Imperialism and the Independents: A Conflict of Allegiance," and awarded A.B. in history

1954--Enrolls at Columbia University in the fall as a graduate student in history

1955--Submits A.M. thesis "Donald Richberg and the Idea of a National Interest" and awarded Masters Degree

1956--Marries Nell Commager in June; hired as a summer research assistant for the Historical Division of the National Foundation for Infant Paralysis

1957--Father appointed editor of Post-Dispatch editorial page

1957-59-- Teaches history as Instructor at Williams College; moves with wife to Williamstown, Massachusetts

1958--Son Robert Evans born in January; first major publication "The Anti-Imperialists, the Philippines, and the Inequality of Man" appears in The Journal of Southern History (Aug 58)

1959--Moves with family to Washington, D.C. to finish PhD research; daughter Elizabeth Dan born in September

1960--Awarded SSRC fellowship in March; becomes Assistant Professor at Roosevelt University in Chicago in the fall

1961--Finishes dissertation, receives PhD in history from Columbia; becomes Assistant Professor of History at the University of Iowa

1962--American Liberals and the Russian Revolution published by Columbia University Press; "American Intervention in Siberia: a Reinterpretation" appears in Political Science Quarterly (Jun 62)

1963--Becomes Associate Professor at Iowa; "'Two Kindred Spirits'" (with William Tayor) published in New England Quarterly (Mar 63); daughter Catherine Thomas born in May; receives SSRC fellowship; "Understanding the Russians and Understanding Ourselves" published in Teachers College Record (Nov 63)

1964--Goes to Cambridgeshire with family, finishes writing second book

1965--The New Radicalism in America published by Knopf; son Christopher Nelson born in April; "A New Curriculum for Teach-Ins" appears in Nation (Aug 65); The Social Thought of Jane Addams, edited by Lasch, published by Bobbs-Merrill

1966--Becomes Professor of History at Northwestern University in the fall; Robert Lasch awarded Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for editorials critical of war in Vietnam; "What Shall a Moral Man Do?" appears in Nation (Nov 66); Organization of American Historians sponsors panel on New Radicalism in Cincinnati

1967--"The Cultural Cold War" appears in Nation (Sep 67); participates in the Third Annual Socialist Scholars' Conference in New York

1968--"The Cold War, Revisited and Re-Visioned" published in NYT Magazine (Jan 68); "The Cultural Cold War" published in Towards a New Past, ed. by Barton Bernstein; "The Trouble with Black Power" published in New York Review (Jul 68); co-chairs committee to protest the dismissal of Staughton Lynd from Columbia College in Chicago; receives ACLS fellowship

1969--Agony of the American Left published by Knopf; "The Education and the University We Need Now" (with Eugene Genovese) published in New York Review of Books (Oct 69)

1970--Becomes Professor of History at the University of Rochester; moves with family to Avon, New York

1971--"The Making of the War Class" published in Columbia Forum (Winter 71); Robert Lasch retires and move with Zora to Arizona

1973--The World of Nations published by Knopf; writes novel The Life and Times of a Libertine (not published); begins research on the history of marriage and the family

1974--"The Supression of Clandestine Marriage" published in Salmagundi (Spring 74); receives Ford and Guggenheim Foundation Fellowships

1977--Haven in a Heartless World published by Basic Books; receives an Honorary Doctorate from Bard College

1978--Moves with family to Pittsford, New York; "The Flight from Feeling: Sociopsychology of Sexual Conflict" published in Marxist Perspectives (Spring 78)

1979--The Culture of Narcissism published by Norton

1979--Meets with President Jimmy Carter at an "informal conference" at the White House; becomes Don Alonzo Watson Professor of History at Rochester

1980--"Lewis Mumford and the Myth of the Machine" appears in Salmagundi (Summer 80); becomes Freud Memorial Visiting Professor at University College London (80-81); declines American Book Award for Culture of Narcissism; joins editorial board of a new journal, Democracy (Dec 79)

1981--Receives an Honorary Doctorate From Hobart and William Smith College

1982--Zora Schaupp Lasch dies in September, after a long illness

1983--Last issue of Democracy published in the fall; receives ACLS Fellowship

1984--The Minimal Self published by Norton

1985--Becomes chair of the Rochester Department of History

1987--Becomes Consulting Editor for Tikkun

1988-89--Finishes book as a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavorial Sciences, in Palo Alto, California

1991--The True and Only Heaven published by Norton; "The Soul of Man Under Secularism" published in the New Oxford Review (Jul-Aug 91)

1994--Tribute for Lasch held at American Historical Association Conference in January

1994, Feb 14--Dies at his home in Pittsford, NY, of cancer

1994--The Revolt of the Elites published by Norton

1997--Women and the Common Life: Love, Marriage, and Feminism, a collection of essays edited by Elizabeth Lasch-Quinn, published by Norton

Processing Information: Abbreviations Key

The following abbreviations were used in the writing of this finding aid to describe the materials.

Magazine and Fellowship Abbreviations:

NEQ: New England Quarterly

TNR: The New Republic

PSQ: Political Science Quarterly

JSH: Journal of Southern History

AHR: American Historical Review

JAH: Journal of American History

NOR: New Oxford Review

NPQ: New Perspectives Quarterly

PR: Partisan Review

ITS: In These Times

SSRC: Social Science Research Council

ACLS: American Council of Learned Societies

Register Abbreviations, Series I-V:

l.o.r.: letter of reference

??: no name or date

conf.: conference

T.L.S.: typed letter, signed

A.L.S.: autograph (handwritten) letter, signed

carbon response: carbon letter from Lasch to correspondent

response (TLS copy): photocopy of letter from Lasch to correspondent (used circa 1982-)

Register Abbreviations, Series IIa-V:

corr. w.: correspondence with (letter exchange)

mss.: handwritten manuscript

w. manu. rev.: with manuscript (handwritten) revisions

typs.: typescript draft

m.c.r.: miscellaneous critical responses to a publication of Lasch’s

m.r.r.: miscellaneous reprint requests, queries

c.v.: curriculum vitae

Related Archival Materials

See also: The Writings of Christopher Lasch: a Bibliography in Progress, compiled by Robert Cummings, Social Science Division, Truman State University. Last revised July 7, 2003.

Title
Christopher Lasch papers
Status
Under Revision
Author
Finding aid prepared by Rare Books and Special Collections staff
Date
undated
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • September 2023: Finding aid was updated in September 2023 for formatting and expansions to the collection-level description notes.

Library Details

Part of the Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation Library

Contact:
Rochester NY 14627-0055 USA