Editor’s note: This is our 5^th in the series on the celebration and reflections on the anniversary of the University of Illinois Press Working Class in American History. Jessica Wilkerson has just published her first book in this series, and was asked to comment on her personal encounter with the series and labor history.

We continue our commentaries about the important contributions and critical reviews of the remarkable Working Class in American History Series, which is celebrating its 40th year in 2018. The series began when labor history as a field was beginning to  make inroads into the dominant narratives of U.S.

The project was imbued with E. P Thompson’s vision of class as a historical relationship, and of course there was his iconic statement in his book, The Making of the English Working Class: “class happens when some men, as a result of common experiences…, feel and articulate the identity of their interests as between themselves and as against other men whose interests are different from theirs…”

Thanks to the organizers and to the Newberry.

I always listen carefully to and learn from Nelson, but I think he and I disagree a bit. His distinction between the series and the field is vital. Even with over 130 volumes in print, a lot of labor history has occurred outside the series.

In the next two weeks, we’ll be publishing a series of commentaries about the important contributions and critical reviews of the remarkable Working Class in American History Series, which is celebrating its 40th year in 2018.