Jean Pfaelzer
2023 Heyday History Award Winner for California, A Slave State!
Professor Jean Pfaelzer is an internationally recognized scholar and public intellectual in the fields of American History, Asian American Studies, Cultural & Literary Studies, Gender Studies, and Slavery.
Writing about multi-racial stories and hidden histories drawn from buried archives, Jean is committed to finding and giving voice to individuals and experiences that have been overlooked or silenced for far too long in American history.
Professor Emerita of English, Asian Studies, and Women and Gender Studies at the University of Delaware.
Guest lecturer at institutions including Smithsonian Museums, the Library of Congress, and the Woodrow Wilson Center.
Regular speaker on PBS, NPR, Pacifica, and syndicated African American radio on issues of immigration, labor, and women.
Fulbright Senior Scholar and member of PBS/KEET Community Action Board.
In 2024, Jean was awarded the United Chinese Americans (UCA) Iris Shun-Ru Chang Award for Humanity.
California, A Slave State
Jean Pfaelzer’s newest book looks West to reveal the full and untold history of California as a slave state. This forgotten history spans three centuries of human bondage and resistance — from the Spanish invaders and missionaries who captured Native Americans to the enslaved people transported into California during the Gold Rush. From Chinese prostitutes and indentured and incarcerated laborers to contemporary victims of human trafficking in the sex trade, sweat shops, and marijuana agriculture.
Through her painstaking archival work and rich storytelling, Jean Pfaelzer rewrites our understanding of race in the West and redefines America’s uneasy paths to freedom.
Winner of the 2023 Heyday History Award!
Please consider ordering through your local independent bookstore! A few of Jean’s favorites are Politics and Prose, Powell’s Books, City Lights & Green Apple Books.
Celebrate with Jean!
On Oct. 26, 2023, Jean Pfaelzer was honored with the 2023 Heyday History Award for California, A Slave State alongside Joan Baez, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Watch the 17th Annual Heyday Harvest, featuring revelatory conversations about justice, art, and life with Jean and Joan, as well as powerful explorations of the world through the eyes of Heyday’s authors and honorees.
Watch now
Jean Pfaelzer receiving the Heyday History Award from Steve Wasserman of Heyday Books.
Listen to Jean discuss her newest book on KQED
— “How California Became a Slave State” —
Listen now!
Explore Jean’s Books
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![Image of California, A Slave State]()
California, A Slave State
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![Image of Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans]()
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![Image of The Utopian Novel in America]()
The Utopian Novel in America
The Utopian Novel in America, 1886-1896: The Politics of Form
(University of Pittsburgh Press)
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![Image of Parlor Radical: Rebecca Harding Davis and the Origins of American Social Realism]()
Parlor Radical
Parlor Radical: Rebecca Harding Davis and the Origins of American Social Realism
(University of Pittsburgh Press )
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![Rebecca Harding Davis Reader]()
Rebecca Harding Davis Reader
Rebecca Harding Davis Reader: “Life in the Iron-Mills,” Selected Fiction, and Essays.
(University of Pittsburg Press.)
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![Image of book: Mizora: A Prophecy]()
Mizora: A Prophecy
Mizora: An 1880s Radical Feminist Utopia
(Syracuse University Press)
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![Image of Driven Out (Mandarin Edition)]()
Driven Out (Mandarin Edition)
Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans
(Mandarin Edition)
Upcoming events with Jean
Check in regularly for upcoming speaker events, book readings, in-person book signings, and TV and radio appearances.
