The bulk of the papers is Porter's own handwritten notes, but also includes materials he saved from other sources (such as local newspapers) and typewritten proposals presented by Porter to his dissertation committee. The papers remain in Porter's original order. Porter's research focused on socialist and anarchist forces in Algeria immediately following independence. Materials are in both French and English.
David Porter was born in Chicago in 1939. While earning his doctorate in politics from Columbia University, he spent a year in Algeria, studying workers' movements following Algeria's independence from French colonial rule in 1962. Porter went on to teach politics and history at SUNY Empire State College for 25 years. Outside the classroom, he was active in local land-use movements in New Paltz, New York. He co-founded the Association for Intelligent Rural Management (AFFIRM), a grassroots organization that, in concert with other New Paltz groups, protected local land from excessive commercial and retail development. Porter also published scholarly essays and books throughout his life, including his 2011 book Eyes to the South: French Anarchists and Algeria, a comprehensive study of Algeria's postcolonial political landscape. Porter passed away in 2018.
