Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised May 30, 2026

Eric Davin

Eric Leif Davin is an American historian and author known for his work on labor history, political movements, and early science fiction.

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May 30, 2026
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Eric Davin
Born
Eric Leif Davin

(1947-12-19) December 19, 1947
Dyersburg, Tennessee
Education
OccupationsAuthor, Historian

Eric Leif Davin (born 1947) is an American historian and author known for his work on labor history, political movements, and early science fiction.

Bibliography

Bibliography

Davin was born on December 19, 1947, in Dyersburg, Tennessee. He studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Education from 1972 to 1973, then attended the University of Pittsburgh, from which he earned a Master of Arts in history (1989) and a Doctor of Philosophy in American history (1999).1

Davin joined the University of Pittsburgh faculty in 1980 where he taught American history and popular culture. He remained on the Pittsburgh faculty until 2020.2

Publications

Davin’s scholarship spans labor history, political movements, and the history of science fiction. His books include Pioneers of Wonder (1999), based on interviews with early science fiction writers,34 and Partners in Wonder (2006), which examined the participation of women in the genre between 1926 and 1965.56

He later published Crucible of Freedom (2010), a study of working-class political activity in western Pennsylvania during the New Deal period,78 followed by Radicals in Power (2012), which analyzed former 1960s activists who entered public office.

References

References

  1. "Davin, Eric Leif". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  2. "Science Fiction Book Club: Interview with Eric Leif Davin" (PDF). Middletown Public Library. August 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2026.
  3. Irvine, Alex (November 1, 2000). "Review: Pioneers of Wonder: Conversations with the Founders of Science Fiction, by Eric Leif Davin". Science Fiction Studies. 27 (Part 3 (82)): 533–535. doi:10.1525/sfs.27.3.0533. ISSN 0091-7729.
  4. "Pioneers of Wonder: Conversations with the Founders of Science Fiction by Eric Leif Davin". Publishers Weekly. June 28, 1999. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  5. Lacey, Lauren (July 1, 2007). "Review: Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926-1965, by Eric Leif Davin". Science Fiction Studies. 34 (Part 2 (102)): 329–331. doi:10.1525/sfs.34.2.329. ISSN 0091-7729.
  6. Davin, Eric Leif (October 24, 2019). "Early Sci-Fi: You Could Look it Up". The New York Review of Books. Vol. 66, no. 16. ISSN 0028-7504. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  7. "BOOK REVIEW: Eric Leif Davin, Crucible of Freedom: Workers' Democracy in the Industrial Heartland, 1914–1960 (2010) | Insurgent Notes". insurgentnotes.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2025. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  8. Dublin, Thomas (September 1, 2011). "Crucible of Freedom: Workers' Democracy in the Industrial Heartland, 1914–1960". Journal of American History. 98 (2): 549. doi:10.1093/jahist/jar273. ISSN 0021-8723.