David Decosta Leitao
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Emeritus Faculty/Instructional Faculty
Classics, College of Liberal and Creative Arts
Bio:
David Leitao received his A.B. in History (Phi Beta Kappa) from Dartmouth College in 1986. After a year at the Harvard Law School and another at the post-baccalaureate program in Classics at the University of Pennsylvania, he went for graduate study in Classics to the University of Michigan, where he received an M.A. in 1990 and Ph.D. in 1993. His dissertation was entitled "The 'Measure of Youth': Body and Gender in Boys' Transition Rites in Ancient Greece." He has published numerous articles on Greek adolescence and on the history of gender and sexuality in ancient Greece. In 2012, he published a book with Cambridge University Press entitled The Pregnant Male as Myth and Metaphor in Classical Greek Literature.
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Book
- The Pregnant Male as Myth and Metaphor in Classical Greek Literature (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012)(paperback edition, 2014)
Reviews of the book may be found at Choice 50 (2013) 2511 (J. S. Louzonis); Bryn Mawr Classical Review 11.10 (2013)(Y. Hong); Glotta 86 (2014) 201-06 (des Bouvrie); Journal of Hellenic Studies 134 (2014) 173-74 (D. Kokkini); Classical Review Online 11.13.2014 (S. Sandford); Journal of the History of Sexuality 24 (2015) 159-61 (J. Mayock); Classical Journal Online 2015.02.11 (T. Joseph); Phoenix 68 (2014) 162-64 (M-P. Krück); Cadmo (2016)(N. Rodrigues)
Articles
- "Sacred Band of Thebes," in H. Chiang, ed. Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History (Farmington Hills, MI: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2019)(in press)
- "Achilles in Love: Politics and Desire in Aeschylus' Myrmidons," in L. Pratt and C. Sampson, eds., Engaging Classicsl Texts in the Contemporary World: from Narratology to Reception (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2018) 51-70
- "Plato and the Philosophical Dialogue," in E. McCallum and M. Tuhkanen, eds., Cambridge History of Gay and Lesbian Literature (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014) 34-50
- "Sexuality in Military Contexts," in T. Hubbard, ed., A Companion to Greek and Roman Sexualities (Malden,MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2014) 230-43
- "Male Improvisation in the Cult of Eileithyia on Paros," in M. Parca and A. Tzanetou, eds.,Finding Persephone: Women's Rituals in the Ancient Mediterranean (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007) 252-7: winner of Paul Rehak Prize for 2008, awarded by the Lambda Classical Caucus for best article of the year in the field of Classics on ancient sexuality and gender roles
- "Ritual? What Ritual?" in A. Barchiesi et al., eds., Rituals in Ink: A Conference on Religion and Literary Production in Ancient Rome (Munich: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2004) 149-53
- "Adolescent Hair-cutting Rituals in Ancient Greece: a Sociological Approach," in D. Dodd and C. Faraone, eds., Initiation in Ancient Greek Rituals and Narratives: New Critical Perspectives(London: Routledge, 2003) 109-29
- "The Legend of the Sacred Band," in M. Nussbaum and J. Sihvola, eds., The Night of Reason: Erotic Experience and Sexual Ethics in Ancient Greece and Rome (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002) 143-69
- "Leukippos [1-4]," in H. Canck and H. Schneider, eds., Der neue Pauly: Enzyklopädie der Antike, vol. 7 (Stuttgart 1999) 106
- "Leukippiden," in H. Canck and H. Schneider, eds., Der neue Pauly: Enzyklopädie der Antike, vol. 7 (Stuttgart 1999) 106
- "Solon on the Beach: Some Pragmatic Functions of the Limen in Initiatory Myth and Ritual," in M. Padilla, ed., Rites of Passage in Ancient Greece: Literature, Religion, Society (special issue of Bucknell Review)(1999) 247-77
- "Senecan Catoptrics and the Passion of Hostius Quadra (Sen. nat. 1)," Materiali e Discussioni 41 (1998) 127-60
- "Plautus, Stichus 155ff: a Greek Parody of Plato's Symposium?" Mnemosyne 50 (1997) 271-80
- "The Perils of Leukippos: Initiatory Transvestism and Male Gender Ideology in the Ekdusia at Phaistos," Classical Antiquity 14 (1995) 130-63
Translations
- select translations of ancient Greek texts in T, Hubbard, ed., Homosexuality in Greece and Rome: a Sourcebook of Basic Documents in Translation (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003)
Book Reviews
- review of W. Penrose, Postcolonial Amazons: Female Masculinity in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit Literature (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016) in American Historical Review 123.4 (2018) 1365-1366
- review of A. Scholtz, Concordia Discors: Eros and Dialogue in Classical Athenian Literature (Society for Hellenic Studies, 2008) in Classical Bulletin 84 (2008) 104-05
- review of L. Brisson, Sexual Ambivalence: Androgyny and Hermaphroditism in Graeco-Roman Antiquity (Berkeley 2002) in Scholia 12 (2003) 145-48
- review of C. Calame, The Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece, in Journal of the History of Sexuality 9 (2000) 494-97
- review of C. Williams, Roman Homosexuality, in Journal of Homosexuality 40 (2000) 163-68
Talks on Peer-Refereed Panels
- "Metrodorus, Chrysippus, and the Birth of Athena," Classical Association of the Middle West and South Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, April 2009
- “Lucian’s Pregnant Moonmen,” refereed panel, Classical Association of the Middle West and South Annual Meeting, Austin, April 2002
- “Greek Childbirth Rituals: Female and Male Versions,” Conference on Women’s Rituals in Context, University of Illinois, October 2002
- “The Early History of the Kouretes,” Classical Association of the Middle West and South Annual Meeting, Knoxville, April 2000
- "A Male Pregnancy Ritual from Cypriot Amathous and the Strategies of Replacement," American Philological Association, Washington, DC, December 1998
- "Blepyros' Turd Child (Aristoph., Eccl. 369-71): Male Pregnancy and the Rule of Women," Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association, Claremont, CA, November 1998
- “Exclusion of the Agamoi from the Gymnopaidiai and the Politics of Viewing at Sparta,” American Philological Association, Chicago, December 1997
- “Homoerotic Titillation and Greek Rites of Passage,” Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association, San Jose, November 1997
- “Theocritus 12 and the Diokleia,” Classical Association of the Middle West and South Annual Meeting, Boulder, April 1997
- “Disguise and Festival in Greek Battle Narratives,” Classical Association of the Middle West and South Annual Meeting, April 1995, Omaha
- "(Re)birth from the Oxhide: Sacrificial and Initiatory Motifs in the Myth of Orion," Classical Association of the Middle West and South Annual Meeting, April 1994, Atlanta
- "Transvestism in Greek Initiation," Classical Association of the Middle West and South Annual Meeting, April, 1993, Iowa City
Invited Talks
- "'Lightness': Calvino Reading Lucretius, Ovid (and Plato)," Conference at Stanford University entitled "Will Literature Survive the 21st Century: A Colloquium Inspired by Italo Calvino's 'Six Memos for the Next Millennium," May 2014
- “Giving Birth to Thought: Prequel to Plato,” UC Berkeley Brown Bag Series in Ancient History and Classical Archaeology, October 2007
- “Respondent’s Remarks,” Rituals in Ink: Roman Religion and Literature, conference at Stanford University, February 2002
- “Adolescent Hair-Cutting Rituals in the Ancient Greek World: a Sociological Approach,” Department of Classics, University of Chicago, March 2000
- “Male Pregnancy Rituals in the Ancient World,” Department of Classics, UCLA, February 2000
- "The Legend of the Sacred Band," for a Conference Entitled “Queer Republic: Homosexuality in Greek Politics and Political Thought,” Department of Classics, University of Chicago, February 1999
- “Male Pregnancy in the Greco-Roman World,” Cornell University, October 1997
- “Male Pregnancy in the Greco-Roman World,” UC Berkeley, Group in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology, October 1997
- “Ritual Male Accouchement in the Cult of Aphrodite at Cypriot Amathous,” Conference on Religion and Gender in the Ancient Mediterranean, Ohio State University, May 1997
- “Carnival History,” University of Mississippi, February 1995
- “The Passion of Hostius Quadra,” Miami University (Ohio), February 1995
- “Carnival History,” University of Minnesota, January 1995
- “Male Initiation in Classical and Hellenistic Crete,” Dartmouth College, January 1995
- “Carnival History: Some Battle Legends in Herodotus, Thucydides, and Plutarch,” University of Wisconsin-Madison, January 1995
- “The Study of Adolescence in Ancient Greece,” Michigan Society of Fellows, University of Michigan, May 1994
- “Rites of Passage and the Classics,” Case Western Reserve University, March 1994
- “Male Initiation in Classical Crete: Some Idioms of Transition,” Ohio State University, February 1994
Talks at San Francisco State
- "When Does Life Begin? Some Ancient Texts on Abortion," SFSU ORSP Research Symposium, June 2014
- “The Origin of Platonic Love,” SFSU Classics Student Association Lecture Series, April 4, 2012
- “Theorizing Male Pregnancy in Ancient Greece,” Classics Faculty Colloquium, SFSU, May 2009
- “Artemidorus on the Couch: Some Sexual and Transsexual Dreams from the Second Century CE,” Classics Student Association Annual Lecture Series, San Francisco State University, May 2002
- "Anal Birth and Its Discontents," Graduate Literature Association, San Francisco State University, November 1998
- “Orpheus and the Third Sex: Homosexual Ecstasy in some Orphic Cults?” Classics Student Association Lecture Series, San Francisco State University, March 1996
- “Carnival History,” San Francisco State University, February 1995
Jason Ferreira
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He/Him/His
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Associate Professor
Ethnic Studies Program, College of Ethnic Studies
Bio
Jason Ferreira is Associate Professor and Chair of Race & Resistance Studies in the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. He holds a B.A. in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign (1992) and both an M.A. and PhD in Comparative Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley (2003). He is also a recipient of the University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellowship (2003-2005).
Dr. Ferreira's teaching and scholarship focus on the history of radicalism within and across communities of color. Recent scholarship includes "With the Soul of a Human Rainbow: Los Siete, Black Panthers, and Third Worldism in San Francisco," published in the award-winning anthology Ten Years that Shook the City: San Francisco, 1968-1978. He is also published in Kalfou: A Journal of Comparative and Relational Ethnic Studies, Latino Studies, and internationally in the Doshisha American Studies Journal. Drawing upon dozens of oral histories and extensive archival research, he is currently working on the first social history of the multiracial struggle that culminated in the momentous Third World Strike at San Francisco State, giving birth to the first Department of Black Studies and (still) only College of Ethnic Studies in the nation. In 2008, Dr. Ferreira joined with veterans of this defining struggle and with current students to formally establish the All Power to the People Archive Project, an initiative dedicated to both preserving the history of the diverse social movements for self-determination that existed at the heart of the strike and laboring to make them available to future generations in struggle. On campus, he has served on the Labor Studies Advisory Board and on the Academic Senate. Currently Dr. Ferreira sits on the Community Service Learning Advisory Board of the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement. Additionally, he serves on an advisory committee for the Latino Educational Achievement Partnership (LEAP), a project of the Cesar E. Chavez Institute.
Along with Elizabeth "Betita" Martinez and Phil Hutchings, Ferreira co-founded the Institute for MultiRacial Justice, a resource center dedicated to promoting and strengthening solidarity among communities of color. He also joined in the creation of the Center for Political Education in San Francisco's Mission District. It's ongoing mission has been to provide a space dedicated to building strong movements and the left through education, analysis, theory, dialogue, and activism. He has also served on the Board of Directors of SpeakOut: Institute for Democratic Education and Culture. Currently, Dr. Ferreira sits on the Board of Directors of the Freedom Archives, the Kendra Alexander Foundation, and is a member of the Coordinating Committee of the Howard Zinn Book Fair. He is also the Project Director of the Eyes on Arizona Project, an initiative dedicated to providing political education, encouraging civic engagement, and developing leadership skills in youth in pursuit of immigrant justice.
Courses
FALL 2020
RRS 240: All Power to the People: Comparative Freedom Movements of the Sixties
ETHS 710: Theories and Issues in Ethnic Studies
PREVIOUS SEMESTERS
Undergraduate:
RRS 100: Introduction to Ethnic Studies
RRS 240: All Power to the People: Comparative Freedom Movements of the Sixties
RRS 250: Race, Ethnicity, and Power in America
RRS 252: Beyond Bars and Borders: Race and the Carceral State
RRS 350: Race, Labor, and the Class Struggle
RRS 520: Race, Radicalism, and Revolution
RRS 600: History of People of Color in the United States
RRS 694: Community Service Learning: Praxis in Race and Resistance Studies
Graduate:
ETHS 710: Theories and Issues in Ethnic Studies
Jonathon Stillman
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Professor
Biology, College of Science and Engineering
Bio:
The Stillman Laboratory in the Department of Biology studies the effects of climate change and human impacts on marine and aquatic organisms in response to warming, increasing frequency and severity of heat waves, carbon dioxide acidification, salinity gradients, hypoxia and other environmental stressors.
We study the environmental physiology of marine and aquatic organisms in order to better understand the ecological consequences of physiological responses to climate change. We study a diversity of marine organisms, including crabs, sea hares, coccolithophores, clams, and freshwater crustaceans and insects. We adopt an integrative approach, with laboratory and field-based studies across levels of biological organization from ecosystems to organisms to genomes.
Our work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and a number of other public and private funders.
To learn more about what we do, please visit our laboratory website.
Website
Ravinder Sehgal
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He/Him/His
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Professor
Biology, College of Science and Engineering
Bio:
Ravinder Sehgal is a Professor in the Dept. of Biology at San Francisco State University where he teaches courses in parasitology and emerging infectious diseases. His research focuses on the ecology of diseases in birds. For example, he studies how deforestation affects the prevalence and diversity of avian malaria in African rainforest birds. More recently he has begun studying how global climate change may affect the spread of avian malaria in Alaska and throughout the world. With a PhD in cell biology from UCSF, he takes advantage of current advances in molecular biology to address large questions in disease emergence. Since an early age, he was fascinated and saddened by the extinction of species, from dinosaurs to dodos. Through research and teaching he strives to make an impact in conservation biology. He is a vegan activist, and also an accomplished musician, playing bassoon and piano.
Research Description:
My research program focuses on the biology of avian blood parasites. The work encompasses many aspects including molecular parasitology, ecology, evolution, and conservation genetics. We have ongoing research projects in Africa, California, and Central America and significant collaborations with the Center for Tropical Research at UCLA, the Institute of Ecology at Vilnius University, and the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. There are projects amenable to both graduate and undergraduate research. I teach General Parasitology, Parasitology Lab and Emerging Infectious Diseases at San Francisco State University.
Website:
Bridget James
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She/Her/Hers
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Lecturer, Earth Sciences
College of Science and Engineering - School of the Environment
Christopher Chekuri
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Associate Professor
History, College of Liberal and Creative Arts
Bio:
My research interests include the study of states and families, early modern empires in the Indo-Islamic World, comparative colonialisms and nationalisms, modern Telugu literary criticism and globalization.
Education
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2005
Courses Recently Taught
Undergraduate:
- India and the British Empire
- India since Gandhi
- Classical Forms of South Asian Culture
- The University: Promise and Politics
Graduate:
- Decolonizing History
- History beyond Nation
- Historiography of World History
Research Interests
- Politics of empire in precolonial India
- Identity and cultural modernity in Telugu literature
Selected Publications
Books:
Book Manuscripts under preparation:
- The Men Who Would Be King: The Nayakas of Vijayanagara, 1480-1620.
- A translation with critical commentary of the Tanjavuri Andhra Rajula Charitra, a 17th century Telugu court chronicle produced in Tanjavur, India.
Rita Melendez
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Associate Professor
Sociology, College of Health and Social Sciences
Evelyn Jean Pine
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Lecturer
Communication Studies, College of Liberal and Creative Arts
Website:
Rachele Kanigel
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Professor
Journalism, College of Liberal and Creative Arts
Bio:
Rachele Kanigel (she/her) is a professor of journalism at San Francisco State University, where she teaches reporting, writing and media entrepreneurship classes and serves as faculty adviser to the award-winning student newspaper, Golden Gate Xpress. She served as chair of the Journalism Department from 2019 to 2022.
After earning her bachelor's degree in journalism at SF State, she worked as a reporter for 15 years for daily newspapers, including The Oakland Tribune and The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina and was a freelance correspondent for TIME magazine. She has also written for U.S. News & World Report, Health, San Francisco, Prevention, People, Reader's Digest and other magazines and was a frequent contributor to MediaShift.
She is the editor of The Diversity Style Guide, a website designed to help media professionals write with accuracy and authority about a complex, multicultural world. She published a companion book, also called The Diversity Style Guide, in 2019. She consults with media organizations about inclusive content and has created diversity style guides and led training sessions for WebMD, Freddie Mac, KUOW radio in Seattle, Children's National Hospital, Lockheed Martin, Rabobank Research, the Public Relations Society of America, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and other organizations.
She is also the author of The Student Newspaper Survival Guide, which is used as a reference guide in college newsrooms around the world. She was on the board of College Media Association for eight years and served as the organization's president 2013-2015.
In 2019, she was a Fulbright Specialist stationed in Bhutan, where she taught and trained faculty in the new mass communication program at Royal Thimphu College. She has directed study-abroad programs for the Institute for Education in International Media (ieiMedia) in Italy, France and Israel.
She holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
In her free time (what free time?!) she likes to hike, cook, travel and make stained glass mosaics.
Websites:
Laura Garcia Moreno
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Professor
Humanities Department, College of Liberal and Creative Arts