DENISE S. SPOONER
California State University, Northridge
History Department
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8250
818/677-3566
denise.spooner@csun.edu

Brief Biography:
Born in Iowa, but raised in southern California since the age of twelve, Denise Spooner came to her interest in California history rather late in her educational experience, as a graduate student. Working to understand the culture of southern California through its history remains an enjoyable challenge, as does talking about that culture and history to others.

Public Lecture Topics:

• "California Dreaming: Imagining the West Coast of Iowa," Iowa Heritage EXPO
• "The Landscape of Community: Southern California 1870-1930" American Historical Association, Seattle, WA
• "The Revitalization of the Right: the GOP during the Brown Years" California State University, Los Angeles
• "Neighbors or Strangers: The Character of Community in Southern California" Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association, San Francisco
• "Memories as Ties that Bind: Co-constructing a New Interpretation of the Role of Midwesterners in Post-War Southern California," Oral History Association, Philadelphia, PA

Public Programs:

• Member, Faculty Advisory Board, Center for Southern CA Studies at CSU Northridge
• Member, California Studies Assoc. Steering Comm.
• Member, W.P. Whitsett Comm., Dept. of History, CSU Northridge

Publications:

• "'Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars': Migration, Politics, and the Growth of Suburban Southern California in the Post-War Years," in 20th Century Los Angeles: Power, Promotion, and Social Conflict, Norman Klein and Martin Schiesl, eds., forthcoming
• "A New Perspective on the Dream: Midwestern Images of California in the Post-World War II Decades, California History, LXXVI no. 1 (Spring 1997): 44-57; and California Dreams and Realities: Readings of Critical Thinkers and Writers, James Solomon and Sonia Maasik, eds., Bedford St. Martins Press.
• "The Revitalization of the Right in the Brown Years," in California Politics and Policy, Martin Schiesl, ed., Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at CSU Los Angeles.

Recommendations:

Books
Community and Social Change in America by Thomas Bender
Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of America by Kenneth Jackson

Websites
www.h-net.msu.edu/~cal/

Denise Spooner has been listed in the Directory of California Thinkers since 31-Jan-2000.