1999 Rockefeller Scholar-in-Residence
Italian Coal Miners in the Southern West Virginia Mine Wars, 1902-1922
Dr. Barkey’s project examines Italian immigrants and their roles in the industrial struggles in West Virginia’s southern coal fields, especially the Long Ton Strike and the Cabin Creek-Paint Creek Strike. These events will are studied from the point of view of Italian miners in such Kanawha and Fayette county communities as Longacre, Harewood, Boomer, and Smithers.
Dr. Barkey earned his Ph.D. in History (major concentration in U.S. Labor History) from the University of Pittsburgh. He earned both his M.A. and B.A. from Marshall University. Dr. Barkey has taught history at the University of Charleston, the Institute for Labor Studies at West Virginia University, and was named Professor Emeritus at the West Virginia Graduate College. He has also been selected as a Danforth Associate in recognition of his outstanding college teaching.
In 1988, Dr. Barkey was knighted by the King of Belgium (Order of King Leopold II) for promoting greater awareness of the contributions of Belgian immigrant workers to the development of West Virginia and the nation.
Dr. Barkey has published articles in a number of journals including West Virginia History, Mountain Messenger, and Goldenseal and has authored Cinderheads in the Hills: Belgian Window Glass Workers in West Virginia and Rednecks: The West Virginia Socialist Party 1898-1920.