Eric Gonzaba, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Department of American Studies

Dr. Gonzaba

Professor Gonzaba is a historian of race and sexuality  in America. His current research is focused on the politics of pleasure and leisure in the modern United States. He's currently working on a book manuscript on the history and culture of gay male nightlife since 1970. Gonzaba's work has previously been supported by grants and fellowships from the Point Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. 

Gonzaba is the creator of several public digital humanities projects. In 2014, he founded Wearing Gay History , an award-winning online archive that explores the global history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people through t-shirts. It won the National Council on Public History's top student prize in 2016.  More recently, he and Dr. Amanda Regan are working on a digital mapping project that investigates ignored queer geography and spaces since 1965 entitled Mapping the Gay Guides.  In 2021, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded the project a grant to fund a multi-year expansion of the site.

In January 2021, Gonzaba began his term as co-chair of the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History, an affiliated society of the American Historical Association.

CONTACT

  • egonzaba@fullerton.edu
  • Dept: 657-278-2441
  • Office: Gordon Hall  409
     

ADDRESS

Cal State University, Fullerton
American Studies
800 N. State College Blvd. UH-313
Fullerton, CA. 92831

OFFICE HOURS

Varies by semester, but appointments welcome anytime. 

COURSES REGULARLY TAUGHT

  • AMST 201: Introduction to American Studies (Anxiety & the Making of America)

  • AMST 350: Theories & Methods in American Studies

  • AMST 401T: Race in American Culture

  • AMST 401T: Civil Rights & American Culture

  • AMST 401T: War in American Culture

  • AMST 454: American Nightlife

  • AMST 502T: Sex, Pleasure, and Desire in American Culture


MA Exam Field Options

  • Gender and Sexuality 

  • Race and Ethnicity

  • Consumption and Leisure

  • Alternative Field (please consult with Professor Gonzaba)

 

SELECT RECENT PRESENTATIONS

  • “The Queer Battle for Capitol Hill: Marines and Violence at D.C. Gay & Lesbian Nightlife,” Invited speaker, 2020 Organization of American Historians Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2-5, 2020

  • “Sex and Desire,” panel commentator, American Studies Association's 2019 Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, November 10, 2019

  • “The Queer T-shirt in Our National History,” Invited PLATO lecture, Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington, November 1, 2019

  • “(In)Visible Histories: Roundtable Discussion on LGBT Rights 50 Years after Stonewall” Invited talk at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C., June 26, 2019

  • “Our Queer Closets: Understanding Global LGBTQ History Though T-shirts" Invited lecture at the Worcester Historical Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts, May 30, 2019

  • “Protect the Blood: Visual Culture and Black Resistance to the Mid Atlantic AIDS Crisis," Committee on LGBT History's and the GLBT Historical Society's Queer History Conference 2019, San Francisco, California, June 17, 2019

  • “Where Else Can We Go?: The Black Gay Bar in the Urban Mid Atlantic,” American Historical Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, January 6, 2019

EDUCATION 

  • Ph.D., History, George Mason University, 2019

  • M.A., History & Women and Gender Studies, George Mason University, 2014

  • B.A., History & Political Science, Indiana University, 2012

AWARDS

DIGITAL PROJECTS

Eric Gonzaba, Ph.D.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF AMERICAN STUDIES

BIO / DESCRIPTION

Race and Sexuality; African American and LGBT history; Pleasure and nightlife cultures 

DEGREES

  • 2019, PhD, History, George Mason University
  • 2014, MA, History & Women and Gender Studies, George Mason University
  • 2012, BA, History & Political Science, Indiana University

RESEARCH AREAS

Professor Gonzaba's research focuses on the politics and culture of pleasure in modern America, especially in late twentieth century social movements. He's currently finishing a book manuscript on the history and culture of gay male nightlife since 1970. Gonzaba's work has previously been supported by grants and fellowships from the Point Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. 

In 2014, Gonzaba founded Wearing Gay History, an award-winning online archive that explores the global history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people through t-shirts. It won the National Council on Public History's top student prize in 2016.  He's currently working on a digital mapping project that investigates ignored queer geography and spaces since 1965 entitled Mapping the Gay Guides . The project is currently generously funded by the CSU Chancellor’s Office via a Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity grant. 

Courses Regularly Taught

  • AMST 201: Intro to American Studies (Anxiety and the Making of America)
  • AMST 350: Theories and Methods in American Studies
  • AMST 401T: Race in American Culture
  • AMST 454: American Nightlife

rECENT PRESENTATIONS

  • “The Queer Battle for Capitol Hill: Marines and Violence at D.C. Gay & Lesbian Nightlife,” Invited speaker, 2020 Organization of American Historians Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 2-5, 2020
  • “Sex and Desire,” panel commentator, American Studies Association's 2019 Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, November 10, 2019
  • “The Queer T-shirt in Our National History,” Invited PLATO lecture, Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington, November 1, 2019
  • “(In)Visible Histories: Roundtable Discussion on LGBT Rights 50 Years after Stonewall” Invited talk at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C., June 26, 2019
  • “Our Queer Closets: Understanding Global LGBTQ History Though T-shirts" Invited lecture at the Worcester Historical Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts, May 30, 2019
  • “Protect the Blood: Visual Culture and Black Resistance to the Mid Atlantic AIDS Crisis," Committee on LGBT History's and the GLBT Historical Society's Queer History Conference 2019, San Francisco, California, June 17, 2019
  • “Where Else Can We Go?: The Black Gay Bar in the Urban Mid Atlantic,” American Historical Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, January 6, 2019