A. Belden Fields (1937- ) is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1965-2000) and his research focused on French and US politics, especially left political groups and unions. Professor Fields has been active on campus and in the community, supporting student movements and co-founding such organizations as the Faculty Committee Against the War in Vietnam, the Citizens for Racial Justice promoting minority rights on campus, or the People's Alliance on Central America. He has also been critical of CIA recruiting on campus, university hiring practices and Champaign police's Use of Force Policy for instance. He worked with the Citizens for Peace and Justice on criminal justice issues and was an advocate of abolishing the University Illini Chief as a university mascot. He is recognized for his work in undergraduate teaching and his lifetime service to civil liberties and Human rights.
Papers include correspondence, CIA and FBI files compiled on Fields, his research field notes and interviews, committee papers, files by the various organizations he was involved in, his publications, unpublished manuscripts, speeches, and articles. Also included is grey literature by French and US political parties, student movements, and unions, with a particular focus on Communism, Maoism, Socialism, and Trotskyism.
Organized into 4 series: Series 1, Professional and activism related files, 1968-2010, arranged alphabetically; Series 2, Gray literature- France and US Left-wing publications, 1960s- 1980s, arranged alphabetically under different sections provided by Fields, there are 18 folders of oversized materials throughout series 2 moved to oversized box 8, the oversized materials are cross-reference back to original folder; Series 3, Research notes and interviews, 1961-1981, arranged chronologically; and Series 4, Publications by A. Belden Fields, 1970-1988, arranged chronologically by date of publication.
Series 1: Professional and activism related files, 1968-2010. The series covers Professor Fields' activities during his time at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The series contains correspondence, CIA and FBI files complied on Fields, reports, memorandums, articles and speeches, unpublished manuscript, announcements, fliers, press releases, and news-clippings. Correspondents include faculty and administration at the University and other institutions, as well as national policy actors. Included are his talks and statements about political matters on the Iraq war and the University's involvement in police force training, appointments, and visits to the campus. Also included is his support of student activism and minorities' representation on campus, including his association with Citizens for Racial Justice. It is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Series 2: Gray literature- France and US Left-wing publications, 1960s- 1980s. This series contains publications by French and US organizations including political parties, movements, and unions related to Communism, Maoism, Socialism, and Trotskyism, as well as student activism. Publications include books, newspapers, journals, and pamphlets. For most materials (except publications under the first section [General]), Fields organized publications by political affiliations and particular publication titles. This arrangement schema was maintained; within each section, materials are arranged alphabetically.
Series 3: Research notes and interviews, 1961-1981. This series contains Fields' notebooks, research notes and interviews he did with French activists. Also included are his interviews with US Communists and research notes of student movements. Most materials (except folders under the first section [General]) are organized under section headings provided by Professor Fields and chronologically within each section.
Series 4: Publications by A. Belden Fields, 1970-1988. This series contains Professor Fields' books and journal articles, organized chronologically.