Faculty Information
Rodger Birt - Humanities B.A and M.A. Advisor and American Studies Coordinator
Office: 529; Phone: 338-1220; email: rbirt@sfsu.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 2:00 - 3:30 and 5:00 - 6:00
Professor Rodger Birt's primary research field is the history of photography in the United States since 1840 with an emphasis on the period of 1840-1950. I am interested in American photography and photographers as their work relates to the larger social, political, and cultural context. I have published works on the Harlem photographer of the earlier twentieth century, James VanDerZee, and the San Francisco architectural photographs from the 1850's made by George Robinson Fardon. I am currently working on photographs of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. My teaching interests are American art and photography, the history of American architecture, and the place of ancient Roman and Greek societies in the study of America.
B. A. in History-Indiana University; M. A. in History and Classics-Indiana Univ.
Ph. D. in American Studies-Yale University. Teaching interests: American Art and
Photography; American Architecture; African American Culture; American Urban Culture. Research Interests: American Photography and Photographers. Current Project; A History of the San Francisco Earthquake and its
Aftermath, 1906-1909.
Stanley Bailis, Professor
Social Science (Interdisciplinary Studies)/American Studies
Dr. Bailis earned his B.A. in American Civilization, (University of Pennsylvania,
1958), his M.A.in American Studies (Yale University, 1960), and his Ph.D.
in American Civilization (University of Pennsylvania, 1970). At San Francisco
State since 1963, he has taught a wide range of courses in Social Science
(Interdisciplinary Studies) and American Studies, served several terms
as director of both programs (Social Science: 1980 - 1983, 1992 - 1995;
American Studies: 1985-88, 91-94, 97-2000); and coordinated both the graduate
program in Social Science (1965 - 1972, 1987 - 2001) and the Liberal Studies
Program in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (1974-1981).
He is an associate director of SFSU's Pacific West Center for Regional
Study.
Long active in the American Studies Association, Dr. Bailis has served
as executive secretary (1970-72), vice president and program director
(1972-74,1988-90) and president (1974-77, 1990-91) of the California branch,
and at the national level as a member of the Association's Executive Council
(1969, 1974-77), its National American Studies Faculty (1977-79), and
its Nominating Committee for national officers (1980-83; chair, 1981-82).
Dr. Bailis was Jury Editor of ISSUES, the Journal of the Association for
Integrative Studies from 1987 through 1988, and Editor-in-Chief from 1989
to 2000. During all those years he was also a member of the Association's
governing board of directors. He is now both Editor Emeritus of the journal
and a member of its editorial board.
Dr. Bailis' most recent publications are:
“Comprehending Common Ground: Contribution to a Symposium on M.G.
Murphey’s Philosophical Foundations of Historical Knowledge,”
in AMERICAN STUDIES, Fall 1996
“The Culture of Babel: Interdisciplinarity As Adaptation In Multicultureland,”
in ISSUES, Journal of the Association for Integrative Studies,
1996
"Teaching Interdisciplinary Social Science" in C. Haynes, ed.,
Innovative Interdisciplinary Teaching,
[in press, Greenwood
Press]
"Contending With Complexity: A Response to William H. Newell's 'A
Theory of Interdisciplinary Studies' " in ISSUES, Journal
of the Association for Integrative Studies (print version in press, electronic
version 2000)
Since June of 2000 Dr. Bailis has been participating in the Faculty Early
Retirement Program.
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