2008IN MEMORIAMIN MEMORIAM continuedFaculty BookshelfReaching out to the Community:Public History at NorthwesternTaking a cue fromour public-spiritedundergraduates, whoare signing up withTeach for America inrecord numbers, thedepartment has beenreaching out to workwith area public schoolteachers to improvemiddle and high schoolhistory education.Northwestern U.S. history faculty played a vitalrole in a 3-year-long Evanston Township HighSchool (ETHS) project to enhance students ’understanding of American history and government,two cornerstones in the developmentof future civic and political leaders.ETHS received nearly $1 million from the U.S.Department of Education for the project thatseeks to have a far-reaching national impacton improving the achievement of Americanhistory students, particularly those of color,for a three-year professional developmentprogram for middle and high-school Americanhistory teachers.The project involved teachers from many ofthe 21 school districts in the Minority StudentAchievement Network (MSAN), includingthe high school and elementary districts inEvanston and Oak Park as well as expertsfrom Northwestern University, The NewberryLibrary and the Constitutional Rights Foundationof Chicago.The grant was used to enrich teachers’ knowledgeof American history and their classroomskills and to improve student achievementin traditional American history, particularlyamong underachieving students. The projectcontinued on page 6Lane FenrichWe mourn the loss since the last newsletterof three distinguished colleaguesand beloved History professors.Harold Perkin, one of the leadingsocial historians of his era, died inLondon on October 15, 2004, aftera short illness. Perkin retired in1997, having come to Northwesternas professor of history in 1985, withhis wife Joan Griffiths Perkin, ahighly regarded historian of womenin Britain.Harold Perkin was born in 1926 inHanley, later renamed Stoke-on-Trent, inthe Potteries. His father was a constructionworker, but he also had relatives in othersocial orders, from the poorest of laborersto well-off factory owners. This “societywidefamily” as he called it, was his inspirationfor social history. A self-described“clever clogs from the terraces,” Perkinwon a scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridgein 1945. In his memoir, The Makingof a Social Historian (2002), he recalled hisfamily’s shock at seeing the university’schecklist of “necessary” items for newstudents, including damask tablecloths anda dinner service for 12!Perkin was one of the leaders of the“social history revolution” of the 1960s and1970s. He served as editor from 1958 ofthe well-known series Studies in SocialHistory. He was also the founder and firstchairman of the Social History Societyof the United Kingdom from 1976 to1985. But of course he was best known forhis own works of social history. His firstbook was The Origins of Modern EnglishSociety, 1780–1880 (1969). This superbvolume of original synthesis gave a historyof the English social structure itself, as itwas transformed from the pre-industrialhierarchy to the class society of the mid-19th century. Perkin contended that theindustrial revolution was made possible bythe very structure of the open hierarchy ofthe 18th century, and it involved enormoussocial as well as economic changes. Thisbook became the standard interpretation of19th century social history for subsequentgenerations of historians.In the final chapters of Origins, Perkinforecast the rise of the professions, whichin his judgment came to dominate Britishsociety. That story he told in a secondJoan Perkin, Regina Grafe, and Tessie Liu. To honor Harold’s memory, Joan generouslylaunched the annual Harold Perkin Prize for best dissertation in history.impressive book, The Rise of ProfessionalSociety: England since 1880 (1989). In it,Perkin argued that class society reachedits climax in the 1920s, to be succeededby professional society, which in turn wassplit in the 1980s by a clash between publicsector professionals and private sector professionals.And in telling that story, Perkinpresented a very full social and economichistory of Britain since the late Victorianperiod.A third volume in what Perkin regardedas a trilogy appeared in 1996: TheThird Revolution: International ProfessionalElites. This was a comparative history ofprofessional elites across the developedworld. Here Perkin put the story of therise of the professions in different nationalcontexts, displaying a remarkable knowledgeof the different national histories andcultures. This volume marked a turn of histeaching interests towards comparativehistory, which he taught at the graduatelevel at Northwestern in the1990s.Meanwhile,Perkin had distinguishedhimself asa spokesman andadministrator foruniversity teachersin Britain. Heserved as vice presidentand presidentof the Association ofUniversity Teachersfrom 1969through1974, andwas theAUT’schief salarynegotiatorin thosesame years.Harold PerkinThis work gave him unparalleled insightinto the workings of the British universitysystem. Two books were the result: NewUniversities in the United Kingdom (1969),which was far more than a handbookto the “plate glass” universities; and KeyProfession: The History of the Association ofUniversity Teachers (1969), which remains amajor contribution to the history of Britishuniversities and academics in the 20thcentury.Perkin’s students remember not onlyhis incisive intellect, but also his readylaughter, his commitment to social justice,and his fundamental warmth. Those whoknew Perkin outside the seminar roomwere not surprised to learn that he hadbeen active in the Cambridge Footlights (asatirical comedy group) during his undergraduatedays, and that he had a successfulcareer on the BBC, writing and hostingtwo popular history series, The Age of theRailway, and The Age of the Automobile;both series resulted in published volumes.Perkin is survived by his wife, Joan,who in his honor has generously fundedthe annual Harold Perkin Prize for bestdissertation in History at Northwestern;two children, Deborah and Julian; andtwo grandchildren. Former students andfriends who would like to help permanentlyendow the Perkin Prize in Harold’smemory may so specify in gifts to thedepartment.—Bill Heyck, George Robb (WilliamPaterson University), and Meredith Veldman(Louisiana State University)Richard W. Leopold, a preeminent U.S.diplomatic historian, died of natural causesNovember 23, 2006, in Evanston, Illinois.He was ninety-four.Among the hundreds of former studentsidentifying Leopold as a mentor whoprofoundly affected their lives are formerSen. George McGovern (D-SD), formerRep. Richard Gephardt (D-MO), Rep. JimKolbe (R-AZ), former assistant secretaryof state Phyllis Elliot Oakley, historianJohn Morton Blum (Sterling Professorof History Emeritus at Yale University),journalist Georgie Anne Geyer, and televisionand motion picture producer/writer/director Garry Marshall. Kolbe wrote, “Iused to say with great pride that I learnedAmerican diplomatic history at the feet ofone of the greatest scholars in the UnitedStates—Dick Leopold. I knew thatstatement would not be challenged in orout of academic circles. . . [He] believedthat being a teacher and a mentor was alifetime commitment, and for those whoresponded, it became a lifetime of friendship.”McGovern noted, “I believe thatevery thoughtful student who studied underProfessor Leopold’s direction wouldagree that this country has produced nomore dedicated and competent professor.He has not only mastered his field but hehas had a lifetime passion to convey hisknowledge and insight to his students.”Marshall recalled his difficulty answeringlong essay questions in final exam bluebooks and how Leopold “allowed me toanswer with dialogue scenes rather thanprose writing and graded me on contentrather than style. It helped me tremendouslyand I think my early Bismarckdialogue aided me in writing sitcoms andmovies for a living.”The second son of Harry Leopold Sr.and Ethel Kimmelstiel, Richard Leopoldwas born on January 6, 1912 on the upperwest side of Manhattan. He attendedthe Franklin School before enrolling in1926 at Phillips Exeter Academy wherehe graduated cum laude in 1929. He thenwent on to Princeton University, graduatingwith highest honors and Phi BetaKappa in 1933.After Princeton he pursued graduatestudy at Harvard University under thetutelage of Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr.,receiving a master’s degree in 1934 and aPh.D. in 1938. Leopold’s doctoral dissertationbecame his first book, Robert DaleOwen: A Biography (1940), which won theAmerican Historical Association’s JohnH. Dunning Prize as the best book on anysubject relating to United States history.During World War II, he was commissionedas a naval officer and worked atthe Office of Naval Records and Libraryin Washington, D.C. After the war, hereturned to Harvard for two years beforejoining the Northwestern Universityfaculty in 1948. Over the subsequent threedecades there, Leopold was instrumentalin Northwestern’s successful effort to buildone of the finest collections of Americanhistory scholars ever assembled at asingle institution of its size. In addition toAlderThe Lie Detectors: TheHistory of an AmericanObsession. New York: TheFree Press, 2007.CarrollBetween Heaven andModernity: ReconstructingSuzhou, 1895-1937.Stanford: StanfordUniversity Press, 2006.FrommerNational Cleansing:Retribution against NaziCollaborators in PostwarCzechoslovakia. New York:Cambridge University Press,2005.GrafeEntre el mundo ibérico yel atlantico. Comercio yespecialización regionalen el norte deEspaña,1550-1650. Bilbao City:Diputación Foral de Bizkaia,2005Leopold, the 1950s roster included Ray A.Billington, Arthur S. Link, and ClarenceL. Ver Steeg. Leopold and Link becameespecially close collaborators, producingProblems in American History (1952, 1957,1966, 1972), among many other works. Inaddition to hundreds of articles. Leopoldalso wrote Elihu Root and the ConservativeTradition (1954), and The Growth of4 The Newsletter of the Department of History at Northwestern University5