Envisioning the Vastness of Early America: The Origins of California's Early Inhabitants
Born and raised in California, Steve Hackel earned his B.A. at Stanford University and his Ph.D. in American History from Cornell University with specializations in early America and the American West. He now teaches at U.C. Riverside.
Within the larger field of early American history, Hackel's research specializes on the Spanish Borderlands, colonial California, and California Indians. He is especially interested in Indian responses to colonialism, the effects of disease on colonial encounters, and new ways of visualizing these processes through digital history.
Hackel has published a biography on Fray Junipero Serra, the principal founder of California's mission system, and a monograph on Indian life in the California missions, as well as numerous essays. He is the general editor of the Early California Population Project and the Project Director for the Early California Cultural Atlas. He co-curated the Huntington Library’s international exhibition, “Junípero Serra and the Legacy of the California Missions.”