April 8, 2002 New Faculty Eric Porter Assistant Professor, American Studies Eric Porter Photo: Ann Gibb Eric Porter's research interests focus on African American cultural and intellectual history, comparative race and ethnicity, popular culture, and jazz studies. In his book, What Is This Thing Called Jazz? (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), Porter explores writings and other source material by jazz musicians to construct a history of jazz within the context of African American intellectual history and American social and cultural history. In his ongoing work, Porter is beginning to investigate connections between race and science and the ways black intellectuals and artists have responded to some of the political and moral challenges that scientific investigations into race have posed. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Porter comes to UCSC from the University of New Mexico. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in American studies from the University of Michigan and his B.A. in history from UC Berkeley. Return to Front Page