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Faculty by Research Specialization

The Department of History at UC Santa Cruz is known for its innovative research and exemplary scholarship. Our faculty work at the cutting edge of their respective fields, covering a wide variety of geographic, temporal, and thematic fields of study. The areas of specialization listed here are by no means an exhaustive list of our scholastic interests. Rather, they highlight the diverse and often overlapping ideas and approaches we explore within our teaching and research.

Eric Porter
  • Pronouns he, him, his, his, himself
  • Title
    • History Graduate Program Director
    • Professor
  • Division Humanities Division
  • Department
    • History Department
    • History of Consciousness Department
    • Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
  • Affiliations Music Department, Latin American & Latino Studies, Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas
  • Phone
    831-459-5287 (office, voice mail checked infrequently)
  • Email
  • Office Location
    • Humanities Building 1, 235
  • Office Hours Spring 2024: By appointment; email to set up zoom or in-person appointment; Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually best for in-person
  • Mail Stop Humanities Academic Services
  • Mailing Address
    • 1156 High Street
    • Santa Cruz CA 95064
  • Faculty Areas of Expertise African American / Black Studies, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Jazz, American Studies, California History, Improvisation, Urban studies, Cultural Studies
  • Courses HIS 120: W.E.B. Du Bois; HIS 20: Popular Music Movements; HIS 122A: Jazz and United States Cultural History; HIS 122B: Jazz and United States Cultural History; HIS 190C: 9/11 in Historical Perspective; HIS 204C: Colonialism, Nationalism And Race Research Seminar; HISC 216: Critical Race/Ethnic Studies; HISC 232: Music/Social/Thought; HISC: 246: Black Radicalism; HISC 249: Black Ecological Thought

Research Interests

Black cultural and intellectual history; US cultural history and cultural studies; critical race and ethnic studies; popular music and jazz studies; black radicalism; urban studies.

Biography, Education and Training

B.A. History, UC Berkeley
M.A. American Studies, University of Michigan
Ph.D. American Studies, University of Michigan

Selected Publications

Recent books: