The Joseph R. Starobin papers provide insight into the American perception of communism, and especially that perception as developed in the 1950's. The collection also documents the anti-Vietnam War views and activities of a leftist American intellectual. The materials reflect Starobin's association with world-wide political elites and his insightful political commentary from a unique perspective. The papers are arranged in four series: CORRESPONDENCE, WRITTEN WORK, SUBJECT FILES, and PERSONAL INFORMATION.
The CORRESPONDENCE constitutes about half of the collection. Most materials are arranged chronologically, and some are organized by subject if more than one correspondent is involved. The bulk of the material dates from 1954 to 1976, although there are scattered items from the 1930's and 1940's. Included are personal, business, and political correspondence, with letters from many prominent persons including political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski, Senator Robert Kennedy, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, author Doris Lessing, and historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. An alphabetical list of prominent correspondents is appended to this register.
The series WRITTEN WORKS is divided into two broad subseries: materials concerning works by Joseph Starobin, and those pertaining to works of others. The Starobin subseries contains his writings, notes, correspondence with publishers and individuals in regard to his publications, promotional materials, reviews, and course work from his days as both a student and a professor. Starobin's articles are arranged chronologically if the date of publication is known, and undated articles are organized by publisher, if known. Papers written for Starobin's college courses are ordered in a separate chronological sequence titled “Student Course Work.” The subseries concerning works written by others is classified according to physical format or publication title. A file of anonymous manuscripts contains works probably written by Starobin.
SUBJECT FILES include materials on Vietnam. Here can be found correspondence, articles, news releases, Vietnamese publications, posters, and leaflets. Many of these items relate to Starobin's effort to arrange peace talks between North Vietnam and the United States.
The PERSONAL INFORMATION series consists of one file containing application forms, letters of recommendation, a genealogical chart, and other documents which reveal part of Starobin's personal history.
