Eric Porter

Eric Porter is Professor of History, History of Consciousness, and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at UC Santa Cruz. He is also affiliated with the school’s Music and Latin American & Latino/a Studies Departments and he previously taught in its American Studies Department. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. in American Culture from the University of Michigan and his B.A. in History from UC Berkeley. His research and teaching focus on Black cultural and intellectual history, US urban and cultural history, jazz and improvisation studies, and comparative ethnic studies.

His forthcoming book, "A People’s History of SFO," fulfills a longstanding goal of publishing a project on the Bay Area, where he was born and raised. This book uses the history of San Francisco International Airport (and the land on which it was built) to tell a multifaceted story of development, encounter, and power in the region from the eighteenth century to the present.

His previous books include "What Is This Thing Called Jazz?," winner of an American Book Award; "The Problem of the Future World"; "New Orleans Suite," a collaboration with the photographer Lewis Watts; and two volumes co-edited with Daniel Fischlin: "Playing for Keeps" and "Sound Changes."