Greg Kaliss

Ph.D. Student
kaliss@email.unc.edu

Major Field: U.S. History

Other Fields: Cultural History; Global History; African-American History; American Studies; Gender History

Advisor: John F. Kasson

Research Interests: I am primarily interested in the intersections of American popular culture with racial, gender, national, and class identities, and am currently finishing my dissertation,  “Everyone’s All-Americans: Race, Men’s College Athletics, and the Ideal of Equal Opportunity.”  In this project, I analyze the public discourse surrounding five pioneer black athletes at predominantly white schools over the time period of 1915-1973, exploring how ordinary Americans responded to changes in the nation’s racial politics across the nation.  Numerous observers—black and white, old and young, men and women—commented on these athletic stars, using sports to discuss a wide range of issues, such as race, masculinity, and fairness.  Above all, however, they continued to return to sports as a model for equal opportunity in American life more broadly.  Their (at times conflicting) assessments shed new light on ordinary Americans’ sense of the nation’s egalitarian possibilities and limitations.