Rate My Professor John Putman

John Putman is a Professor of History in the Department of History at San Diego State University and serves as Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Letters. He earned his Ph.D. in History from the University of California, San Diego in 2000 and his B.A. in History from San Diego State University in 1987. Putman is a historian of the modern American West, with a focus on the late 19th and 20th centuries, particularly California and the Pacific coast states. His research addresses class and gender politics in Progressive Era urban settings and the role of Pacific Coast expositions in promoting the region. From 2015 to 2021, he directed SDSU’s International Business Program. Putman also examines 20th-century U.S. cultural history, including science fiction films from the Cold War era and the social and cultural meanings of Star Trek.

Putman’s publications include the books Class and Gender Politics in Progressive Era Seattle (University of Nevada Press, 2008) and Boosting a New West: Pacific Coast Expositions, 1905-1916 (Washington State University Press, 2020). His articles comprise “Racism and Temperance: The Politics of Class and Gender in Late 19th-Century Seattle” in Pacific Northwest Quarterly (2004), “‘A Test of Chiffon Politics’: Gender Politics in Seattle, 1897-1917” in Pacific Historical Review (2000), and “To Boldly Go Where No History Teacher Has Gone Before” in The History Teacher (2013). He contributed the chapter “Terrorizing Space: Star Trek, Terrorism, and History” to Star Trek and History (Wiley, 2013). His current research project analyzes the social, cultural, and political landscape of the United States through science fiction television shows Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The X-Files, and Babylon 5. Putman teaches courses that integrate history with popular culture, such as Star Trek, Culture, and History, as well as California History and U.S. History.