Paul Von Blum

 

General Information

 

Name:            Paul Von Blum

 

Educational Background

 

J.D.  University of California, Berkeley.  1967

 

A.B.  San Diego State University (Political Science).  1964

 

Academic Employment

 

1980-present      

                        Senior Lecturer, African American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles;

Additional Teaching in Communication Studies, History; Art History; Film and Television, Comparative Literature; Management, Psychiatry, Council on Educational Development, Division of Honors, Academic Advancement Program; Coordinator, Professional School Seminar Program (1980-1983)

 

1979-1980            Associate Director, Center for the Humanities;

            Adjunct Faculty in Social Ethics, School of Religion,

            University of Southern California, Los Angeles

 

1978-1979             Program Manager, National Endowment for the Humanities--Fellowships Division, Professions Program, Washington, D.C.

            (On leave from the University of California, Berkeley)

 

1973-1978            Head, Social Science Field Major,

Division of Interdisciplinary and General Studies (D.I.G.S.), University of California, Berkeley;

Acting Chair, D.I.G.S., Summer 1975, 1976

 

1972-1978            Lecturer, D.I.G.S., University of California, Berkeley

 

1968-1972            Lecturer, Department of Rhetoric,

            University of California, Berkeley

 

1967-1968            Member of the Faculty, Department of Humanities,

            California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles

 

1966-1967            Instructor, Department of Political Science,

            Golden Gate College, San Francisco

 

Related Professional Experience

 

Member of the California Bar, part-time pro bono legal practice (1969-present)           

 

Co-Curator, ”Through The Eyes of Charles Dickson,” Watts Towers Arts Center, August 2103-March 2014

 

Co-Curator, “Places of Validation: Art and Progression,” California African American Museum, September 2011-April 2012

 

Curator, “Deconstructing Apartheid: The Photography of Peter Magubane,” California African American Museum, October 2004-May 2005

 

 

 Invited Academic Appointments:

    

     Lecturer (part-time, while continuing at UCLAS) in Political Science, African American Studies, and History, University    of California, Irvine (1990-1995)

     

     Faculty Coordinator, Social Science Major, UC Irvine, (1992-1994)

    

     Visiting Professor of Art History, Occidental College, Los Angeles (Winter, 1987)

    

     Visiting Lecturer in Sociology, University of California, San Diego (Winter, Spring, 1986)

 

     Visiting Associate Professor of Philosophy, St, Mary’s College, Moraga, California (1975)

 

     Visiting Lecturer in Law, University of California, Davis (Spring, 1975)

 

Selected Awards and Honors

UCLA Academic Advancement Program, Faculty Recognition Award, 2012

 

Eugen Weber Honors Collegium Teaching Award, UCLA, 2008

 

UCLA Academic Advancement Program, Faculty Recognition Award, 2007

 

Faculty Excellence Award, UCLA Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society (2006)

 

Professor of the Year, 2000/2001, conferred by the M.A. graduating class, African American Studies, UCLA

 

Faculty Excellence Award, UCLA Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society, (1997)

 

Outstanding Professor Award, School of Social Sciences, 1993/94, conferred by the Associated Students of the University of California, Irvine, and the University of California, Irvine, Alumni Association (1994)

 

Most Outstanding Professor Award, School of Social Sciences, 1992/1993, conferred by the Senior Class of the University of California, Irvine (1993)

 

Distinguished Teaching Award from the Academic Senate, UCLA (1986)

 

Distinguished Teaching Award from the Associated Students, University of California, Berkeley (1976)

 

Distinguished Teaching Award from the Academic Senate, University of California, Berkeley (1974)

 

Teaching

 

Selected Courses Developed/Taught

 

Television Criticism (graduate seminar)

Films of Persuasion

Films and Society

History of Documentary Films

Politics and The Media

Presidential Elections and the Media

Freedom of Expression: The First Amendment

Introduction to the Bill of Rights

Constitutional History of the United States: Civil War to the Present

Race, Racism, and the Law

Politics, Censorship, and the Law

The Politics of Social Protest

The Civil Rights Movement

Theories of Persuasion

Managerial Problem Solving (organizational communication)

The Politics of Health Care

Medical Ethics: A Literary Approach

Biology and Society

Law, Literature, and Politics

Law and the Humanities

Social Philosophy Through Literature

H.L. Mencken (graduate seminar)

Paul Robeson: An American Life

Mutual Reflections: A History of African American/Jewish Conflict, Cooperation, and Coexistence

20th Century Art

Comparative Cultural Forms: The Literature, Art, Film, and Music of Social Protest

   (graduate seminar)

History of Social and Political Art

Art, Politics, and Society

Art, Politics, and Society: A Feminist Approach

World Literature

People in Society

Introduction to Public Art: The Modern Political Mural

African American Art

Visual Art and Social Advocacy

Aims and Methods of the Social Sciences

 

Also Taught

 

Introduction to Social Science

Introduction to Political Science

Introduction to Argumentation

Freshman Composition

Advanced Composition

Introduction to Oral Communication (public speaking)

 

 

Publications--Books

 

Racism and the Law, Cognella, 2012

 

A Life at the Margins: Keeping the Political Vision, The New World African Press, 2011

 

Resistance, Dignity, and Pride: African American Artists in Los Angeles, Ralph Bunche Center for African American Studies, UCLA, 2004

 

Other Visions, Other Voices: Women Political Artists in Greater Los Angeles, University Press of America, 1995

 

Foundations of Freedom, Constitutional Rights Foundation, 1991 (with John Rhodehamel and Stephen Rohde; textbook on U.S. history with a focus on the development and meaning of the Bill of Rights)

 

Stillborn Education: A Critique of the American Research University, University Press of America, 1986  (Chapter 6, "Student Complicity in Educational Mediocrity," reprinted in Beyond the Conventions: Studies in Prose Writing, Jeanne Gunner, Harper and Row, 1989)

           

The Critical Vision: A History of Social and Political Art in the United States, South End Press, 1982 (Chapter 1, "Introduction," reprinted as "The Critical Vision" in Peace Review, 5-2 (1993)

 

Audrey Preissler: An American Humanist Artist of Today, Helikon, 1981

 

The Art of Social Conscience, Universe Books, 1976

 

 

Publications--Chapters and Essays in Books and Catalogues

 

“Foreword: An Overview of African American Assemblage Art in Los Angeles,” in NOMAD, catalog of the artworks of Dominique Moody, 2012

 

“From Trash to Treasure: The Assemblage Art of Dominique Moody,” in NOMAD, catalog of the artworks of Dominique Moody, 2012

 

“Multicultural Focus Redux: Reflections on the Early 21st Century,” in conjunction with an art exhibition, Refocus: Multicultural Focus, Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica, California 2012

 

“Comic-Strip Art,” in The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, edited by Joan Marder, Oxford University Press, 2011

 

“Charles White,” in The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, edited by Joan Marder, Oxford University Press, 2011

 

“Before and After Watts: Black Art in Los Angeles,” in Black Los Angeles, edited by Darnell Hunt and Ana-Christina Ramon, New York University Press, 2010

 

“William Pajaud,” in The African American National Biography, edited by Henry Louis Gates and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Oxford University Press, 2009 (online version)

 

John Outterbridge, edited by Henry Louis Gates and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Oxford University Press, 2009 (online version)

 

“Man’s Inhumanity to Man: Artists Point the Way,” in conjunction with an art exhibition, Man’s Inhumanity to Man, at Brand Library and Gallery, Glendale, California, 2009

 

“Phoebe Beasley,” in The African American National Biography, edited by Henry Louis Gates and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Oxford University Press, 2008

 

“Samella Lewis,” in The African American National Biography, edited by Henry Louis Gates and Evelyn Brooks

Higginbotham, Oxford University Press, 2008

 

“M. Hanks Gallery at 20; Maintaining the Vitality of African American Art in Southern California,” in Masterpieces of African American Art: An African American Perspective, edited by Eric Hanks, M. Hanks Gallery, Santa Monica, 2008

 

“Justice, Justice, You Shall Pursue: Jewish Political Artists,” in Jews and American Popular Culture, (Volume 2: Music, Theater, Popular Art, and Literature), edited by Paul Buhle, Praeger Publishers, 2007

 

“Harrington, Oliver (Ollie),“ in The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Literature, edited by Hans Ostrom and J. david macey, Greenwood Press, 2005

 

“A Social Realist for the 21st Century: Mark Vallen at A Shenere Velt Gallery,” in conjunction with an art exhibition at A Shenere Velt Gallery, July-August, 2004.

 

“Remembering John Biggers, Honoring Black Women, and Advancing African American Art: Bill Pajaud at 78,” in The Artwork of William Pajaud, edited by Eric Hanks, M. Hanks Gallery, Santa Monica, 2003

 

“Extending the Legacy: John Weber Returns to Los Angeles,” in conjunction with an art exhibition
“John Weber: Paintings, Drawings, Prints, at A Shenere Velt Gallery, Los Angeles, August-October, 2002.

 

“Resistance Art in Los Angeles,” in Unmasking L.A.: Third Worlds and the City, edited by Deepak N. Sawhney, Palgrave Press, 2002

 

“Decades of Dignity: The Art of William Pajaud,” in The Sights and Sounds of My New Orleans, in conjunction with an art exhibition of the same name at the California African American Museum, Los Angeles, curated by Samella Lewis, 1999

 

“Not as Strange as it Seems: Bioethics and Art,” in the catalogue Bioethics: Thresholds of Corporeal Completeness in conjunction with an art exhibition of the same name at Side Street Projects, Santa Monica, California, Side Street Press, 1998

 

“Working Lives: Eva Cockcroft’s Recent Works,” in conjunction with an art exhibition “Working Lives” at A Shenere Velt  Gallery, Workmen’s Circle, Los Angeles, September-November, 1998

 

“Ernie Barnes,” in Black Artists, edited by Thomas Riggs, St. James Press, Detroit, 1997

 

“Jefferson Eugene Grigsby,” in Black Artists, edited by Thomas Riggs, St.James Press, Detroit, 1997

 

“William Pajaud,” in Black Artists, edited by Thomas Riggs, St. James Press, Detroit, 1997

 

“Pat Ward Williams,” in Black Artists, edited by Thomas Riggs, St. James Press, 1997

 

               “Satire,” in The Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Shoaf Turner, Macmillan Publishers, Ltd. London, 1996

 

“Comic-Strip Art,” in The Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Shoaf Turner, Macmillan Publishers, Ltd., London,

1996

 

“Art in the Movie House,” in conjunction with an art exhibition entitled “Projections: Intermission Images,” in the catalogue of the same name, organized by Karen Atkinson and Sylvia Bowyer, Side Street Projects, 1996

 

"Parallel Origins: The Artistic Visions of Lavialle Campbell and Lava Thomas," in conjunction with an art exhibition entitled "Parallel Origins" at the Wight Art Gallery, UCLA, 1995

 

"Graffiti: Public Art from the Other Side," in Notes From The Other Side, Social And Public Art Resource Center, Venice, California, in conjunction with an art exhibition of the same name, 1994

 

"World News: Artists Respond to the Gulf War," in World News:Artists Respond to World Events, Muckenthaler Cultural Center, Fullerton, California, in conjunction with an art exhibition of the same name, 1992

 

"The Masks of Beth Bachenheimer," in Las Mascaras De Beth Bachenheimer, produced by Centro Colombo Americano, Medellin, Columbia, 1991 

 

"Not So Happy Days: The Politics and Culture of the 1950's," in The Rosenbergs: Collected Visions of Artists and Writers, edited by Rob Okun, Universe Books, 1988

 

"The Critical Vision of Antonio Frasconi," in Involvement: The Graphic Art of Antonio Frasconi, edited by Edith Tonelli, Wight Art Gallery, UCLA, 1988

 

"Marginality, Survival, or Prosperity: Interdisciplinary Education in Large Research Universities," in Against The Grain, edited by Richard Jones and Barbara Smith, Schenkman Publishing Co., 1984

 

Selected Publications--Articles and Reviews

 

Art  

“Saving Paul Conrad’s ‘Chain Reaction’,” Truthdig, August 27, 2013

 

“A Visual Critique of Racism: African American Art from Southern California,” Tikkun, Spring, 2013

 

“African American Visual Representation: From Repression to Resistance,” The Journal of Pan African Studies, Vol. 5, No. 8, December, 2012

 

“Toni Scott’s “Bloodlines”: Remembering Yesterday, Understanding Today, and Empowering Tomorrow,” The Journal of Pan African Studies, Vol. 5, No.3, June 2012

 

“Portraits of His People: A Tribute to Willie Middlebrook,” Truthdig, May 22, 2012

 

“Correcting the Canon: The African American Feminist Art of Meta Fuller,” Tikkun, May, 2012

 

“Elizabeth Catlett: An Appreciation,” Truthdig, April, 19. 2012

 

“On the Big Rock,” Truthdig, March 13, 2012

 

“The Never Ending Tale: Images of Despair and Hope from the Great Depression to the Great Recession,” Tikkun, November, 2011

 

“Pacific Standard Time: L.A. Comes Into Its Own,” Truthdig, November 22, 2011

 

“Recovering the Rubble: African American Assemblage Art in Los Angeles,” The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 4, no.5, September 2011

 

“Last Links: The Jewish Connection to American Social Realism,” Tikkun, July, 2011

 

“Assembling Stories: The Rubble Art of Dominique Moody,” Tikkun, May, 2011
 

“Ancestral Additions: The Legacy Grows,” The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 4, no. 3, March, 2011

“Charles White: An Artist for Humanity’s Sake,” The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 3, no. 4, December, 2009

 

”Ulysses Jenkins; A Griot for the Electronic Age,” The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 3, no. 2, September, 2009

 

Review of Sarkis Hamalbashian, by Henrik Igitian, Journal of the Society of Armenia Studies, Volume, 16, 2007

 

The Eye Doctor’s Vision,” Tikkun, November/December 2007

 

Review of Armenian Palette of the 20th Century, by Henrik Igitian, Journal of the Society of Armenian Studies, Volume 15, 2006

 

“Elizabeth Catlett,” Grove Art Online/Grove Dictionaries of Art, Oxford University Press, October, 2006

 

“Lois M. Jones,” Grove Art Online/Grove Dictionaries of Art, Oxford University Press, October, 2006

 

“Betye Saar,” Grove Art Online/Grove Dictionaries of Art, Oxford University Press, October, 2006

 

“The Civil Rights Art of Arthur Szyk,” The Arthur Szyk Society, Art Historical Publication series, No. 3, October, 2006

 

“Resistance, Memory, and Hope: The Photographic Art of Peter Magubane,” Safundi: The Journal of South African and Comparative Studies No. 20, October, 2005

 

Review of Moving in Time: Images of Life in a Democratic South Africa, edited by George Hallett, African Arts, Vol. 38, Number 2, Fall, 2005

 

“Southern California Artists Challenge America,” Journal of American Studies of Turkey, Number 20, Spring, 2005

 

“The Sculpture of Tina Allen,” Z Magazine, January, 2001

 

“Kumbaa: The African American Art of Varnette Honeywood,” Z Magazine, July/August 2000

 

“Decades of Distinction: The Art of Yvonne Cole Meo,” Z Magazine, July/August, 1999

 

“Art for Life’s Sake: The Drawings and Paintings of Raymond Lark,” Z Magazine, February, 1999

 

“Sculpture of Charles Dickson,” Z Magazine, May, 1998

 

“Ernie Barnes: Advancing the Figurative Tradition,” Resonance, Volume 1, No. 1, February, 1997

 

“The Political Art of Ian White,” Z Magazine, January, 1997

 

“The African American and Feminist Art of Lavialle Campbell,” Z Magazine, February, 1996

 

”The Life and Art of William Pajaud,” American Visions, December/January, 1996

 

“A Gathering Place,” Amerasia Journal (UCLA), Vol. 21, No. 3, Winter, 1995-96

 

"The Black Panther Mural," Z Magazine, July/August, 1995

 

"New Visions, New Viewers, New Vehicles: Twentieth Century Developments in North American Art," Leonardo (MIT Press), October, 1993, Vol. 26, No. 5

 

 

Law 

“It’s Much More Than Skip Gates,” Review of Charles Ogletree, The Presumption Of Guilt, National Lawyers Guild Review, Volume 64, Number 4, 2010

 

“Public Interest Pledge May Keep Law Students on Right Track,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, September, 29, 2004

 

"Talking About My Generation: Lessons for Lawyers in the 80's,"Los Angeles Daily Journal, September, 1988

 

"What Bill of Rights?" Los Angeles Daily Journal and 11 other newspapers, August, 1987

           

"A New Course on Professional Responsibility," Journal of Legal Education, (Winter), 1979

 

"Watergate and the Lawyers," Law Enforcement Journal, May, 1974

 

"Daumier and Lawyers: A Satirical Challenge," California State Bar Journal, November-December, 1972

 

Review article on jurisprudence (with K. Salter), California Law Review, January, 1969

 

Politics and Culture

 

“Rethinking Black History Month,” Truthdig, February, 2013

 

“The New Media and the Old McCarthyism: Personal Reflections about Contemporary Assaults on Academic Freedom,” Radical Pedagogy, Volume 10, Issue 1, 2012

 

“Postwar Dystopia or Family Paradise?”, review of Second Suburb, edited by Dianne Harris, Tikkun, Spring, 2011

 

“Tikkun Olam Starts at Home,” Tikkun, Winter, 2011

 

“There’s Nothing Wrong With Me,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 12, 2010

 

“Undiscovered No Longer,” review of The Undiscovered Paul Robeson: Quest for Freedom, 1939-1976, by Paul Robeson, Jr., Tikkun, September/October, 2010

 

“A Grisly Golden: Caryl Chessman’s Execution,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 4, 2010

 

Review of Representing Slavery: Art, Artefacts, and Archives in the Collection of Maritime Museum, edited by Douglas Hamilton and Robert J. Blyth, African Arts, Volume 42, Number 1, Spring, 2009

 

“Paul Robeson: The Quintessential Public Intellectual,” The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol. 2, no. 7, December, 2008

 

“Early Lesson in Bigotry,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 21, 2007

 

“The Democratic National Convention Protests in Los Angeles: August 12-17, 2000, Guild Practitioner, Winter, 2006

 

“Many Contributors to Desegregation Deserve Recognition for Their Work,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 17,

2004

 

 Review of Informing Cultural Policy: The Research and Information Infrastructure, by J. Mark Schuster, Journal of Urban affairs, Vol. 25/No.5, 2003

 

“Restoring Robeson’s Reputation: An Overdue Chapter,” Echo, Volume 4, Issue 1, Summer, 2002

 

“Parks’ Police Shouldn’t Be Lauded for Ignoring Rights,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 4, 2000

 

“Levittown: A Personal Reflection,” Jewish Currents, February, 2000

 

"Rosenberg Era Art Exhibition is Our Key to the Past," Northern California Jewish Bulletin, March 2, 1990

 

"Toward a Humanist Sociology," review of Sociology For Whom?, by Alfred McClung Lee, University Publishing, Winter, 1981

 

Review of Women in Medicine, by C. Jochnowitz, American Biology Teacher, January, 1979

 

            "A Sense of the Recent Jewish Past," Reconstructionist, December, 1978

 

"Mr. Smallwood Goes to Montpelier," Chronicle of Higher Education, September, 1976

 

            Review article on Brazil, Science and Society, Summer, 1974

 

"The Cult of Youth and the New Treason of the Intellectuals," Hedim (Israel, in Hebrew translation), September, 1972

 

            "The Politics of Self Indulgence," Artstra, October, 1971

 

Education

 

“Are Advanced Placement Courses Diminishing Liberal Arts Education?,” Education Week, September 3, 2008

 

“As Admissions Season Approaches, Pre-law Education Should be Rethought,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 15, 2007

 

“UCLA Must Increase Number of Black Law Students,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 11, 2006

 

“Ethnic Studies and the Liberal Arts,” Liberal Arts Online, (Wabash college), Vol.3, No. 4, march 14, 2003

 

“Expanding the African American Studies Curriculum: Paul Robeson: An American Life,“ Pennsylvania History, Volume 66, Number 1, Winter, 1999

 

“Combating Historical Amnesia: Using Paul Robeson to Promote a University/High School Connection,” The History Teacher, Volume 31, Number 3, May, 1998

 

“Curating Art Exhibitions: Promoting Active Honors Education,” The National Honors Report, Vol. XVIII, No. 3, Fall, 1997

 

"Abolish the LSAT," Los Angeles Daily Journal and San Francisco Banner Daily Journal, October 19, 1993

 

"Fears for the Future: Students Display Stunning Ignorance of Bill of Rights," Los Angeles Daily Journal and San Francisco Banner Daily Journal, August 25, 1992

 

"The University of Conformism," LA Weekly, December 27, 1985-January 2, 1986

           

            "Reflections on the Professor-Counselor," College Student Journal, Fall, 1981

 

Review of Interdisciplinarity: The Mutable Paradigm by William V. Mayville, Newsletter of the Association for Integrative Studies, September, 1980

 

"No Discipline is Good Discipline," Chronicle of Higher Education,  September, 1975.  Also appears in an expanded version in Proceedings of the First University Conference on Interdisciplinary Studies, University of California, Berkeley, November, 1975

 

"Toward Humanistic Engineers and Foresters," Chronicle of Higher Education, October, 1975

 

"The Declining Quality of Student Writing at Berkeley," California English, Fall, 1975

 

"Needed: A Code of Ethics for Teachers," Chronicle of Higher Education, October, 1974

 

"Biology and Society: A Curriculum Proposal," American Biology Teacher, April, 1971

 

Educational Materials

 

Censorship, a casebook with original contributions, Cognella, 2010

 

The Challenge of Diversity (with Marshall Croddy, Charles Degelman, and Bill Hayes), Constitutional Rights Foundation, 1999. (History/Social Studies textbook on American racial and ethnic diversity)

 

"Sports Apartheid and The World Community," Sports and the Law, Constitutional Rights Foundation, V.3, N.3, Spring, 1989

 

"On Primary and Secondary Sources," History Day Handbook, Constitutional Rights Foundation, edited by Roberta Gleeson, 1988/89

 

People v. Mitchell (Coauthor with Marshall Croddy, Catherine Herrera, and Elenor Taylor), Constitutional Rights Foundation (Official Materials for the California State Mock Trial Competition, 1990/91); People v. Haines (Coauthor with Marshall Croddy and James Milan), Constitutional Rights Foundation (Official Materials for the California State Mock Trial Competition, 1988/90); People v. Willow (Coauthor with Marshall Croddy and Heide Tuffias), Constitutional Rights Foundation (Official Materials for the California State Mock Trial Competition, 1988/89); People v. Friendly (Coauthor with Marshall Croddy and Anthony Ellis), Constitutional Rights Foundation (Official Materials for the California State Mock Trial Competition, 1987/88)

 

              Wasatch Readings in the Nature of Science (1985), Genetics (1985), and Molecular Biology (1986)

(Editor and author, bioethical materials for high school students)

         

 

Administrative Experience

 

Coordinator, Social Science Major, University of California, Irvine

Responsibilities: curricular development, creation of an honors program, supervision of undergraduate advising, and liaison with administrative officials throughout the university.

 

Coordinator, Professional School Seminar Program, UCLA

Responsibilities: faculty selection, evaluation, and organization of 25-30 interdisciplinary undergraduate courses per year; educational planning, budget, student advising and related functions; field placements and supervision

 

Associate Director, Center for the Humanities, University of Southern California

Responsibilities: grant management, staff selection and management, academic planning, budget, liaison with campus and public officials, and related functions.

 

Program Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities

Responsibilities: organization of humanities seminars for law and health care faculty and for practitioners in law, medicine, nursing, journalism, school administration, and labor; convening and chairing evaluation panels; site visits and evaluation of programs; interviewing and selection of professional and support personnel; liaison with faculty in humanities departments and professional schools throughout the United States.

 

Head, Social Science Field Major, University of California, Berkeley

Responsibilities: faculty selection and evaluation, budget, educational policy and planning, liaison with campus and external officials, supervision of student advising, and related functions.