Paul Spickard

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20th Century U.S. Social and Cultural History

Professor
Ph.D., University of California Berkeley, 1983

Office: HSSB 4257 Fall 2009 Hours: By appointment
Fax: (805) 893-8795
Email: spickard@history.ucsb.edu

Research Interests: Ethnic questions are the questions of my life. I have been blessed to spend most of my life immersed in racial populations and cultural traditions that are different from my own. I have written about many different peoples, from religious minorities in China to African Americans in the 1940s to Japanese Americans to Pacific Islanders to multiracial people. (more...)


As a historian, I try to make a way for individual humans' experiences to be understood by others, for their voices to be heard. As a sometime sociologist, I am trying to figure out how we comprehend and manage our sense of ethnic connection to other people.

Personal Profile: I grew up in and around Chinatown in Seattle, Washington in the 1950s and '60s. I went to college on the East Coast, then fled back to the West Coast to go to graduate school at UC Berkeley and make a family in San Francisco. I have since lived and taught in Minnesota, China, Ohio, Hawai`i, and Oregon. Along the way I picked up a flock of good friends and growth-inducing experiences. UCSB is my tenth university and I hope my final home. My family is the joy of my life.

Teaching Style: Teaching style doesn't matter. Passion matters. If a professor cares passionately about his or her subject matter, and cares passionately that the student learn, then both teacher and student will have a good experience and will grow. As for my style, I like most to listen, to learn who my students are, and then to nudge them toward things they haven't thought about. But in fact, in class I spend a lot of time running around waving my arms and telling stories. Much of my students' most important learning comes outside of class, when they are alone with the books, or when they are writing and trying to express their thoughts.

Idea of a Good Time: Playing an intramural basketball game at midnight. Running on the beach at dawn. Writing feverishly for ten hours at a stretch. Hanging out with friends. Hiking the Sierras. Just watching my kids. Reading almost anything. Listening to that voice that is deep, deep inside.

Most Important Thing to Learn in College: Learn to talk back. Don't whack on other people. But don't just take in information. Analyze what your professors, your fellow students, and the books you read are saying. Form and express opinions about what you are hearing and reading. Search out new information on the subject, even if it contradicts what you have been told or you may have thought at first. Let new ideas and information really sink in. Write about what you are learning. Listen to the responses you get to your opinions and your writing. Take this time to explore and grow.

Advice for New Students at UCSB: Take the risk to really learn. Engage with your teachers. Explore that subject that is just off your intellectual map, that you always wanted to learn about but don't have a good reason for. Dare to grow.