Watts’ research interests include U.S. social and cultural history, digital history, African-American history, film history, and biography. Two of her books – “God, Harlem U.S.A: The Father Divine Story” and “Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood” – have been optioned for film, and her most recent work, titled “The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of African Americans and Politics in the Age of Roosevelt,” was published by Grove Atlantic in 2020. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from UC San Diego and a master’s and doctorate in history from UCLA.

As the curator of the Brewchive, CSUSM’s archive of craft brewing in San Diego, Downie has expertise in San Diego brewing history, women in brewing and affiliated industries, women during Prohibition, representation of women in beer media, and underrepresented groups in brewing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from CSUSM and a master’s in library science from San Jose State.

Sepinwall’s research specialties include the French and Haitian revolutions, modern Haitian history, French colonialism, slavery in film, French-Jewish history, the history of gender and how history is portrayed in video games. Her books include “The Abbe Gregoire and the French Revolution: The Making of Modern Universalism” and “Haitian History: New Perspectives.” She earned a bachelor’s degree in intellectual history and political philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s and doctorate in history from Stanford University.

Nava’s research centers on nationalism in Brazil, gender in Latin America and Chicano/Latino history. The book “Brazil in the Making,” for which she was lead co-editor and contributing author, features multidisciplinary work by Brazilian scholars on Brazilian national identity. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Cal State Northridge and a doctorate in Latin American history from UCLA.

Al-Marashi is an Iraqi-American who has lived in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Morocco and Turkey, and his research deals with the modern history of Iraq. He is a co-author of the books “A Concise History of the Middle East” and “The Modern History of Iraq.” He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and Near Eastern studies from UCLA, a master’s in political science from Georgetown University and a doctorate in history from Oxford University.