Richard Ravalli
Assistant Professor, History
916.577.2262
rravalli@jessup.edu
Expertise
History of the American West, The Pacific World, American Cultural History, State and Local History
Education
Ph.D., World Cultures, University of California, Merced, 2009
M.A., History, California State University, Stanislaus - 2001
B.A., History, California State University, Stanislaus - 1998
Courses Taught
American History
California History
History of Contemporary American Cinema
World Civilization I
World Civilization II
Publications (selected)
Forthcoming article: With Kirsten Livingston and Hannah Zimmerman, "A Revised List of Vessels Engaged in the California Sea Otter Trade, 1786-1847". International Journal of Maritime History.
Article: "The Sea Otter Islands: Geopolitics and Environment in the East Asian Fur Trade". Asia Pacific: Perspectives 9:2 (June 2010): 27-34.
Book Review: Carlos Schwantes, Just One Restless Rider: Reflections on Trains and Travel (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2009). Pacific Northwest Quarterly 101:2 (Spring 2010): 100.
Article: "The Near Extinction and Reemergence of the Pacific Sea Otter", 1850-1938. Pacific Northwest Quarterly 100:4 (Fall 2009): 181-191.
Book Review: Joshua Blu Buhs, Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2009), and Michael McLeod, Anatomy of a Beast: Obsession and Myth on the Trail of Bigfoot (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009). Journal of American Culture 32:4 (2009).
Book Review: Sheerly Avni, Cinema By The Bay (New York: George Lucas Books, 2006). Journal of American Culture 31:2 (2008).
Article: “From A Place Not Far, Far Away: The Modesto Years of George Lucas, Jr". Stanislaus Stepping Stones 31:5 (September-October 2007): 1697-1701.
Article: "Snoop’s Devil Dogg: African-American Ghostlore and Bones". Journal of American Culture 30:3 (September 2007): 285-292.
Article: "Cotton Mather, Levitation, and a Case for Wonders in History". Christian Scholar’s Review XXXV:2 (Winter 2006): 193-204.
Associations, Boards, and Committees:
International Maritime Economic History Association
Society for the History of Discoveries
Washington State Historical Society
Work experience
Instructor, Modesto Junior College (Modesto, CA), 2006 – 2011.
Teaching Assistant, University of California, Merced (Merced, CA), 2005 – 2007.
Lecturer, California State University, Stanislaus (Turlock, CA), 2005 – 2009.
Lecturer, Humphreys College (Modesto, CA), 2003 – 2011.