Kevin Starr (born September 3, 1940) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, best known for his multi-volume series on the history of
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, collectively called "Americans and the California Dream."
Life
Kevin Starr was born in San Francisco, California.
Starr received his
Bachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in English from the
University of San FranciscoThe University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
in 1962. From 1962 to 1964 he served in the
U.S. ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
as a lieutenant in the 68th Armored Brigade in then-
West GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
He then earned an MA degree in 1965 and PhD from
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1969 in
American LiteratureAmerican literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
.
He taught at American Literature until 1973, and then moved to California where he lived in since 1974.
From 1974 to 1989 he was professor or visiting lecturer at numerous California universities, including
UC BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
,
UC DavisThe University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
,
UC RiversideThe University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public research university and one of the ten general campuses of the University of California system. UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United...
,
Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...
, the
University of San FranciscoThe University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
, and
Stanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
In 1989 Starr became Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and was promoted to University Professor of History in 1998.
Starr sometimes teaches at the USC State Capital Center in
Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
.
Starr served as California State Librarian from 1994 to April 1, 2004, when
GovernorA governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
named him State Librarian
EmeritusEmeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
.
In 2004 he published
Coast of Dreams, a cultural history of California since 1990. The volume on the 1950-1963 period won the 2009
Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Book Prize for history.
In 2006, Starr was made a member of the College of Fellows of the
Dominican School of Philosophy and TheologyThe Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology is a Roman Catholic college, seminary, and graduate school in Berkeley, California. It is located at 2301 Vine Street in Berkeley....
in
Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.
In November 2006 he was awarded a
National Humanities MedalThe National Humanities Medal honors individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities, broadened citizens’ engagement with the humanities, or helped preserve and expand Americans’ access to important resources in the humanities.The award, given by the...
. On July 7, 2010, Governor
Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
and
Maria ShriverMaria Owings Shriver is an American journalist and author of six best-selling books. She has received a Peabody Award, and was co-anchor for NBC's Emmy-winning coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics. As executive producer of The Alzheimer's Project, Shriver earned two Emmy Awards and an Academy of...
announced that Starr would be a 2010 inductee of the
California Hall of FameConceived by First Lady Maria Shriver, the California Hall of Fame was established at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts to honor individuals and families who embody California’s innovative spirit and have made their mark on history...
; the induction ceremony was held on December 14, 2010 at The California Museum.
Composer
John AdamsJohn Coolidge Adams is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer with strong roots in minimalism. His best-known works include Short Ride in a Fast Machine , On the Transmigration of Souls , a choral piece commemorating the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks , and Shaker...
was inspired by the "Dream" series of books to write the piece
City Noir# The City and its Double# The Song is for You# Boulevard NightThe piece was co-commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, the London Symphony Orchestra in association with Cité de la Musique, the Zaterdag Matinee and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra...
in 2009.
Works
- Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1915. (1973) ISBN 0195016440
- Land's End (a novel) (1979) ISBN 0070608806
- Inventing the Dream: California through the Progressive Era (1985) ISBN 0195034899
- Material Dreams: Southern California through the 1920s (1990) ISBN 0195044878
- Endangered Dreams: The Great Depression in California (1996) ISBN 0195100808
- The Dream Endures: California Enters the 1940s (1997) ISBN 0195100794
- Embattled Dreams: California in War and Peace, 1940-1950 (2002) ISBN 0195124375
- Coast Of Dreams: California on the Edge, 1990-2002 (2004) ISBN 0679412883
External links