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Kevin Starr

ケビン・スター

Kevin Starr

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1940-09-03 （San Francisco, California, US）
Died
2017-01-14 （San Francisco, California, US） age 76
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Roman Catholic
Residence History
San Francisco (birthplace / residence) → Berkeley (education / research) → Los Angeles (university professor / work) → Sacramento (work / teaching)

Career

Occupations
historian, author, professor, librarian
Active Years
1969-2017
Affiliations
California State Library (State Librarian), University of Southern California (professor), Harvard University (former assistant/associate professor)
Memberships
Society of American Historians, College of Fellows, Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology

Education

University of San Francisco
English
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1958–1962
Year of Graduation: 1962
Country: United States
Served as editor of the student newspaper
Harvard University
English / American literature
Degree: M.A., Ph.D.
Period: 1963–1969
Year of Graduation: 1969
Country: United States
M.A. 1965, Ph.D. 1969
University of California, Berkeley
Library science
Degree: M.S.
Period: 1973–1974
Year of Graduation: 1974
Country: United States
Earned while serving as a city librarian

Awards

National Humanities Medal
2006
Organization: National Endowment for the Humanities
Result: 受賞
California Hall of Fame
2010
Organization: State of California
Result: 殿堂入り
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (History)
2009
Work: Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950–1963
Category: 歴史
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞
The Robert Kirsch Award
2012
Organization: Los Angeles Times
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Americans and the California Dream, 1850–1915

1973 History (California history) 494 pages

Comprehensive history of California's formative years (1850–1915), covering immigration, economic development, and the emergence of the California dream; the first volume of his multi-volume series.

California dreammigration and demographicseconomic development
Adaptations
  • [Music (inspiration)] City Noir (by John Adams) (2009)

Land's End

1979 Novel

A novel by Starr; detailed information is limited.

fictionelements set in California

Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950–1963

2009 History

Covers California's era of abundance from 1950 to 1963, discussing prosperity and regional identity; one of the concluding volumes of his series.

prosperity and consumer societysuburbanizationcultural identity

Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Bridge

2012 History / Biography

Study of the Golden Gate Bridge's history and its cultural significance.

infrastructure and symbolismregional history

Bibliography

  • Americans and the California Dream, 1850–1915
  • Land's End (novel)
  • Inventing the Dream: California through the Progressive Era
  • Material Dreams: Southern California through the 1920s
  • Endangered Dreams: The Great Depression in California
  • The Dream Endures: California Enters the 1940s
  • Embattled Dreams: California in War and Peace, 1940–1950
  • Coast Of Dreams: California on the Edge, 1990–2003
  • California: a history
  • Golden dreams: California in an age of abundance, 1950–1963
  • Golden Gate: The Life and Times of America's Greatest Bridge
  • Continental Ambitions: Roman Catholics in North America: the Colonial Experience

Adaptations

  • The 'Americans and the California Dream' series inspired John Adams's orchestral work 'City Noir'

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Narrative, archival-research-based scholarly stylePopular-historical storytelling with narrative elements
Recurring Motifs
California dreamsuburbanization and urbanizationintersection of religion and culture

Health

  • Heart attack (acute)
    2017-01-14
    Died suddenly of a heart attack on January 14, 2017

Legacy

Kevin Starr is regarded as a preeminent historian of California who brought the state's history to a broad audience. His work combined scholarly rigor with popular readability and continues to influence both academia and public understanding.

Academic Societies

  • Society of American Historians

In Popular Culture

  • John Adams's orchestral piece 'City Noir' was inspired by Starr's 'Americans and the California Dream' series

Quotes

  • All of a sudden I saw all these California books: diaries, memoirs, journals, histories, bibliographies. And a kind of enchantment overtook me, a kind of beguilement, a kind of reverie...
    Source: Interview quoted in New York Times / biographical sources (2004)

Trivia

  • Described as a seventh-generation Californian
  • Authored the multi-volume 'Americans and the California Dream' series beginning in 1973
  • Served as California State Librarian from 1994 to 2004