Gitlin & the New Left

Though widely known for his critical analyses of media’s psychological and societal impact, sociologist and author Todd Gitlin originally came to prominence in the New Left movement of the early 1960s. In 1963, he was elected the third president of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a youth-based leftist movement that in 1959 branched off from an older socialist education organization, the League for Industrial Democracy.

Established with the intention of promoting civil rights and organizing the urban poor and working class, SDS became the voice of the anti-war movement, a cause in which Gitlin became deeply involved. In 1964, he coordinated SDS’s Peace Research and Education Project, for which he helped organize the first national demonstration against the Vietnam War. Although Gitlin left the organization by the mid-’60s, SDS continued to gather a large following through its civil rights and anti-war protests and activities. Internal divisions, however, including the growth of radical and violent subgroups within the organization, led to the dissolution of SDS by the end of the decade.

– Sonya Abrams, Editorial Intern, The Commonwealth