Studies on the Left was a socialist journal published first in Madison, Wisconsin, and then in New York City. It was founded by a group of graduate students at the University of Wisconsin “to encourage socialist analyses in the social and natural sciences, literature and the arts.” The original board of editors included representatives from the disciplines of history, economics, political science, sociology, and the language arts.
The first issue of the journal was published in December, 1959, and contained articles by Hans Gerth, Paul Breslow, Lloyd Gardner, and David Eakins, with a “Documents” section and several book reviews. It was well received by the reviewers and the initial printing of 3000 copies was soon sold out. Studies on the Left was conceived as a quarterly, but succeeding issues were printed at irregular intervals, and usually appeared much later than scheduled. Until the spring of 1963, the magazine was issued from Madison, but with the departure of many of the editors and associates for the East Coast, it was decided to transfer operations to New York. Beginning with volume VI (1966), Studies on the Left became a bi-monthly publication, which it remained until its demise in the summer of 1967. The last number of the journal was volume VII, no. 2 (March-April, 1967).
The financing of Studies on the Left was a major problem from the very beginning, and as the years went by it became increasingly difficult to keep the journal solvent. Revenue from subscriptions and bookstore sales was not sufficient to cover the costs of publication, and the editors were increasingly forced to depend on contributions from readers and foundations. Although circulation reached 10,000 copies per issue in the 1965-1966 period, declining sales and increased expenditures forced the suspension of publication shortly thereafter.
The editors, associates, and many of the contributors were close friends, and an informal atmosphere prevailed within the organization. Personal conflicts were not entirely absent, however, and ideological differences sometimes provoked serious dissension and impaired the functioning of the magazine. Several of the editors and associates resigned, at one time or another, due to misunderstandings derived, in part, from the closeness of the staff.
In its seven year history, Studies on the Left enlisted the support of a distinguished group of associates and board members, a veritable “who's who” of the intellectual new left in the United States and abroad. Included were Staughton Lynd, Eugene Genovese, Tom Hayden, Emile Capouya, James O'Connor, and many others, as well as those who were directly responsible for the actual publication of the journal, Eleanor Hakim, James Weinstein, Michael Lebowitz, Saul Landau, Steven Scheinberg, Martin Sklar, and its last managing editor, Dale Lewis.
