Richard Critchfield was born on March 23, 1931 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  He received his B.A. in Far Eastern Studies from the University of Washing, a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University and did further graduate study at universities in Austria and Northwestern University.  During his career as a journalist, Critchfield reported from all over the world, but concentrated on the Third World and the effects of technological change on culture.  His work as a journalist and a scholar led to the publication of seven books relating the effects of technological change on Third World cultures.  Critchfield also published a book on the folklore and legends of Nepal.  He died in 1994 from a stroke.

This collection of Critchfield's papers deals almost exclusively with his book Those Days: An American Album.  There are a few articles written by him and written about him.  The collection contains several drafts of his book as well as the cassette tapes he collected while conducting oral interviews used in the book.  Some of the interviews have been transcribed and the transcription of the interview is available.

Related Collections

Richard Critchfield Papers, Mss 206
Critchfield Family Papers, Mss 210
Richard Critchfield Photograph Collection (Photo2055) 

Literary, Music and Theater