CAMPUS DIRECTORY

Shawn W Schwaller

Title

Assistant Professor

Department

History Department

Office

TRNT 208

Office Hours

Fall 2026 Sabbatical

Campus Zip

0735

Phone

Email

sschwaller@csuchico.edu

Research

Dr. Schwaller is a historian of California and the twentieth-century United States whose scholarship focuses on public history, racial and ethnic studies, cultural history, U.S. imperialism, and the interconnected histories of Los Angeles and the Pacific World. His interdisciplinary training is reflected in both his teaching and research, drawing on the fields of History and American Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in History and an M.A. in American Studies.

Dr. Schwaller has served as both a lecturer and, more recently, a tenure-track faculty member within the California State University system. His scholarship extends beyond traditional academic audiences through public history and public-facing research. In addition to his academic publications, he has authored numerous articles as an award-winning freelance journalist, further demonstrating his commitment to making historical scholarship accessible to the broader public.

Dr. Schwaller will be on sabbatical during the Fall 2026 semester. Upon his return, he will assume the role of Public History Coordinator for the History Department. His current book manuscript, Under a Plastic Palm: Pacific Island Myths and Realities in Twentieth-Century Metropolitan Los Angeles, examines Los Angeles as a gateway to the Pacific World and explores how popular representations of Hawaiʻi and the South Pacific shaped the cultural dimensions of U.S. imperialism in the twentieth century.

Select Publications

Schwaller, S. Neddeau, B.M., & Ellis, F. (Forthcoming). Decoupling Bidwell Mansion and Nottaway Plantation Fires from Teaching (Fictional) History in the Classroom. In Rehnuma Sazaad (Ed.), Decolonizing the Curriculum: Teaching Race and Developing Knowledge about Indigenous Literature. Wilmington, Delaware: Vernon Press

Schwaller, S. (2024). The Visual World of Trumpism and Rural MAGA Warriors in Northern California. In Grant Hamming and Natalie Phillips (Eds.), Interrogating the Visual Culture of Trumpism. (pp. 142-148). Milton Park, England. Routledge.

Schwaller, S. (2023). Escaping Cold War Conformity: Polynesian Drink and Fashion in the Post World War II American West. In David Inglis and Hang Kei Ho (Ed.), Drinks in Vogue: exploring the Changing Worlds of Fashions and Beverages. Milton Park, England: Routledge.

Schwaller, S. (2023). Decolonizing the Streets! of California through the Removal of Junípero Serra Monuments and Statues. In Juilee Decker (Ed.), Fallen Monuments, Contested Memorials, and Dislodged Pasts: Embodied Narratives and Remembrance of Things Cast. Milton Park, England: Routledge.

Schwaller, S. (2020). The Music of Sunshine and Noir California: From California Dreamin’ to Straight Outta Compton. In David Whitt (Ed.), Popular Music in the Classroom: Essays for Instructors. (pp. 38-52). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Publishing.

Schwaller, S. (2017). A Careful Embrace: Race, Gender, and the Consumption of Hawai’i and the South Pacific in Midcentury Los Angeles Tiki Restaurants and Cocktail Lounges. In Catherine Choy and Judy Tzu-Chun Wu (Eds.), Gendering the Trans-Pacific World: Diaspora, Empire, and Race. (pp.366-388). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Publishing. 

Schwaller, S. (2017). Greetings from Bakersfield: Law Enforcement Corruption, White Supremacy, and Latinx Lives in California’s Deep Red South. In Boom California. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. 

Freelance Reporting

Schwaller is an award-winning freelance journalist recognized by the California News Publishers Association. He writes for A News Café, an independent journalism outlet based in Redding, California. His reporting has focused extensively on law enforcement corruption, far-right political extremism, and a wide range of other issues. His author page at A News Café is available here.

Selected Reporting

Schwaller, S. Bidwell Mansion Fire Rekindles Conflicting Views of Chico’s Indigenous History. A News Café, December 31, 2024.

Schwaller, S. New Sources Shed Light on Allegations of Domestic Violence Endured by Missing Shasta County Woman, Nikki Saelee-McCain. A News Café, July 13, 2024.

Schwaller, S. Northern California Tribes Fight to Protect Maidu Ancestral Land in Plumas National Forest from Destructive Rainbow Gathering, A News Café, June 30, 2024.

Schwaller, S. Videos Reveal Chico Neo-Nazi’s Identity, Proof of Littering City With Hate-Speech Flyers. A News Café, June 20, 2023.

Schwaller, S. Straight Outta Cottonwood: The Story of Northern California’s Outlaw MAGA Militia. A News Café, January 29, 2023.

Schwaller, S. Sean Feucht – Far-Right Social-Media Evangelist, D.C.-Wannabe Influencer Becomes Pandemic-Era Millionaire. A News Café, July 2, 2022.

Schwaller, S. Victim’s Mother Wonders: Is Law Enforcement Covering for Carlos Zapata’s Law-Enforcement Business Partner in Dog-Mauling Case? A News Café, June 25, 2022.

Courses Offered:

HIST 130 United States History

HIST 235 Mexican American History

HIST 331 Music and the Politics of Race in U.S. History