When I returned from one of my visits yesterday to the nursing facility to see Susie, I learned of the death of Todd Gitlin. I was stunned and deeply saddened. As I know I have mentioned on this blog, Todd was my student at Harvard in 1960 – 61. Later on, we both contributed to a little anti-war anti-nuclear weapons publication called Tocsin. Four years ago, when I was trying to arrange to teach a course at Columbia, it turned out that I needed to co-teach it with a regular member of the faculty in order to satisfy some obscure regulation. My friend, who had been arranging for the gig, came up with the name of Todd Gitlin, who was not only the director of the graduate program in the school of journalism but was also a member of the sociology department. He had no idea of my former connection with Todd. The two times that we co-taught that course, on Ideological Critique, were an absolute delight. Each Tuesday I would fly up from Raleigh-Durham airport to LaGuardia and take the bus to Columbia. I would get there several hours early and Todd and I would have lunch, usually at a curious little place on Broadway called Wu Nussbaum. It is, if you can believe it, a Chinese Jewish lunch place that features sweet-and-sour pork and everything bagels – a classic Upper Westside establishment.
Todd and I alternated leading the seminar discussions and at
the end of the semester read and commented on all of the papers. It was for me
a wonderful return to Columbia after almost 50 years.
I knew that Todd had been married three times. What I did
not know until I read his obituary was that his second wife was Carol Wolman, a
California psychiatrist who also was my student at Harvard! Indeed, she was both
my student in the Kant course and my junior year tutee. Carol was a brilliant
student who apparently went on to have a very distinguished career and it warms
my heart to think that for a while she and Todd were married.
I do not think I have ever felt more like Mr. Chips.
I was a friend of Todd's. He spoke often about his admiration for you, and said that teaching with you at Columbia was a delight.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the death of your friend, and of a great writer and activist.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brian. It was one of the happiest teaching moments of my life and an unexpected pleasure to reconnect with Todd. His death is a great loss
ReplyDeleteFrom The Nation: https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/todd-gitlin-obit/
ReplyDeleteThere are many video interviews with Todd Gitlin on YouTube that persons unaware of Todd Gitlin's work can consult to find out about him. I like Todd's informal style and parrhesia, especially visible as he performs in the video lecture/interviews, "The 60's at 50" (Bucknell University, Winter 2019-20 recording) on YouTube channel Bucknell Leaders. A more biographical interview from 24 April 2018 is called "A History Matters Evening with Todd Gitlin" with interlocutor Annie Polland, from Center for Jewish History YouTube channel. Gitlin argues that the New Left was not murdered by the FBI but rather "the New left drove itself nuts" with its schisms in the early 1970's in America.
ReplyDeleteI am teaching a course called Philosophies of Communication right now and wish to figure out what texts by Todd Gitlin on the mass media are the best summary of his views. I am going through The Sixties (1993), The Twilight of Common Dreams (1996), Inside Prime Time (2000), The Whole World is Watching (2003), Media Unlimited (2007), and Occupy Nation (2012). If Professor Wolff or any of his readers know what text or part of text would best capture Todd Gitlin's considered judgments about the contemporary mass media and Internet's impact on democracy, it would be good for all to know.
Don't know the answer to that question. I'm not sure, but I think _The Whole World Is Watching_ is the published version of his dissertation. Original edition came out long before 2003.
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