Weir (Ph.D., History, UMass Amherst 1990) studied in the UMass Department of History’s doctoral program from 1986 to 1990, and has taught as an adjunct professor in the Department since 2000. He is the author of numerous books, encyclopedias, and articles on U.S. and New Zealand labor history, including Workers in America: An Historical Encyclopedia (2013), Knights Down Under: The Knights of Labour in New Zealand (2009), and Knights Unhorsed: Internal Conflict in a Gilded Age Social Movement (2000). In this interview Dr. Weir discusses campus life and History Department graduate student culture during the 1980s, graduate student conversations that eventually led to the formation of the Graduate Employee Organization, and his experiences as an adjunct professor. Highlights include his memories of the 1986 Red Sox riot in Southwest Residential Area and the same year’s student occupation of Whitmore Hall, led by led by Amy Carter and Abbie Hoffman, to protest CIA recruitment on campus. Dr. Weir also recalls his longtime friendship with labor activist Utah Phillips, changes among UMass undergraduates, and the influence of Massachusetts political leaders such as Michael Dukakis and Silvio O. Conte upon the University.
Requests to publish, redistribute, or replicate this material should be addressed to the Swift River Valley Historical Society through Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
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Place of origin:
Neilson Library, Smith College, Northampton (Mass.)
