Palermo, Joseph A.

Joseph A. Palermo (born January 27, 1959) is an associate professor of history at Sacramento State University, an author and a commentator. He received his undergraduate degree in sociology and anthropology (double major) from UC Santa Cruz in 1984, a master's degree in history from San Jose State University in 1986 and a master's and doctorate in American history (minor fields: anthropology and modern Latin America) from Cornell University in 1998. The Politics of Race and War: Robert F. Kennedy and the Democratic Party, 1965-1968 was the title of his dissertation. For four years after receiving his doctorate, Palermo taught at Cornell and Colgate University. Since 2002, he teaches classes on the 1960s, the Vietnam War, foreign relations, historiography, and the history and politics of the 20th century at Sacramento State University in Sacramento, California. His expertise includes Robert F. Kennedy, the 1960s, political history, presidential politics and war powers, social movements of the 20th century, the 1980s, and the history of American foreign policy. Palermo makes frequent contributions to the Huffington Post, the online social justice magazine LA Progressive and Common Dreams. His articles have been primarily liberal in outlook and critical of former U.S. President George W. Bush.