The Raya Dunayevskaya Collection
Reports, letters and typescripts relating to Raya Dunayevskaya’s books, including Marxism and Freedom.
About Raya Dunayevskaya
Raya Dunayevskaya (1910-1987) was born in Russia in 1910 and moved to the United States with her family in 1922. An author and philosopher, she founded Marxist-Humanism in the United States and wrote and lectured on philosophy and revolution. She became Leon Trotsky's Russian-language secretary in 1937 during his exile in Mexico but broke with him in 1939 at the time of the Hitler-Stalin Pact.
She authored three major works: Marxism and Freedom, from 1776 until Today (1958), Philosophy and Revolution: from Hegel to Sartre and from Marx to Mao (1973), and Rosa Luxemburg, Women's Liberation, and Marx's Philosophy of Revolution (1982). She was also involved in the Women's and Black Freedom movements. She died in Chicago in 1987.
About the collection
The collection consists of about 145 items and includes letters, reports and typescripts related to Raya Dunayevskaya’s books, including Marxism and Freedom. Of particular interest is her manuscript material relating to her work on Rosa Luxemburg. The collection forms part of the Harry McShane bequest.
Finding aid
Online catalogue
Further reading
Article on Raya Dunayevskaya in Wikipedia
Article on Raya Dunayevskaya in the International Marxist-Humanist Journal
Marxists Internet Archive Raya Dunayevskaya Archive
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