Eric Porter is Professor of History, History of Consciousness, and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at UC Santa Cruz, where he is also affiliated with the Music and Latin American and Latina/o Studies departments. He previously taught in the American Studies Department at UC Santa Cruz as well as at the University of New Mexico and the University of Nevada, Reno. His research and teaching interests include Black cultural and intellectual history, US cultural history, jazz and improvisation studies, urban studies, and comparative ethnic studies. Among his previous books are two University of California Press publications: What Is This Thing Called Jazz? African American Musicians as Artists, Critics, and Activists (2002), winner of an American Book Award, and, with the photographer Lewis Watts, New Orleans Suite: Music and Culture in Transition (2013). The subject of our conversation today is his new book, A People's History of SFO, which is a fascinating look at the complicated history of San Francisco's airport using an ethnic studies lens, an environmental lens, and a labor lens.
In this episode, we discuss social and political patterns during the Civil War in California.
In this episode, we meet an important early citizen of California, Abel Stearns. We learn about his beginnings, his rise to power, and his...
Donald Worster is one of the founders of, and leading figures in, the field of environmental history.Worster’s books include Nature’s Economy: A History of...