Barbara J. Fields

Barbara Jeanne Fields (born Charleston, South Carolina) is a professor of American history at Columbia University. Her focus is on the history of the American South, 19th century social history, and the transition to capitalism in the United States. She was raised in Washington, D.C., where she attended Morgan Elementary School, Banneker Junior High School, and Western High School. She received her B.A. from Harvard University in 1968, and her Ph.D. from Yale University in 1978. At Yale, she was one of the last doctoral students of C. Vann Woodward, one of the preeminent American historians of the twentieth century. She made a notable appearance in Ken Burns' documentary series, The Civil War. Fields was the first African American...