Rate My Professor Jose Navarro

Jose Navarro is an associate professor in Ethnic Studies within the Social Science faculty at Cal Poly Pomona. Hailing from the East Los Angeles/Boyle Heights Ramona Gardens housing projects, he earned his Ph.D. in English from the University of Southern California in 2012, with a dissertation titled 'Machos y Malinchistas: Gang Narratives, Masculinity and Chicana/o Latina/o Culture,' chaired by John Carlos Rowe. He also holds an M.A. in English from USC (2009) and a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley (2002). His academic career includes serving as assistant lecturer in the USC Writing Program (2006-2011), assistant professor in the English Department at Cal Poly Pomona (2012-2016), assistant professor in Ethnic Studies (2016-2018), and associate professor since 2018.

Navarro's research specializations encompass Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x literary and cultural studies, Chicano/Latino gang film and narratives, intersections of race, gender, masculinity, and sexuality studies, and decolonial theory and politics. He teaches courses such as Ethnic Studies 112: Race, Culture, and Politics in the United States; ES 114: Introduction to Ethnic Studies; ES 243: Survey of Latina/o/x Studies; ES 301: Latina/o/x Literature; ES 302: Chicana/o/x Literature; ES 303: Latina/o/x Poetry & Politics; ES 323: Mexican American Culture Images/Latina/os in Popular Culture; ES 324: Chicana/o/x Film; ES 340: Cultural Production in Ethnicity/Latinx Cultural Production; ES 400: Special Problems; ES 450: Field Research Methods; and ES 461: Senior Project. Key publications include 'A Browner Shade of Noir: Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit as Indigenous Noir' (Diálogo, forthcoming 2021), 'Chicana/o Sounds: Field Notes from the Chicana/o and Sound Studies 2020 MLA Panel' (Journal of Popular Music Studies, 2020), 'Homeboy Masculinity' (Oxford Encyclopedia of Latina/o Literature, 2018), and book chapters like 'Braided Together: Native and Black Hip Hop Against Police Violence' (2019). Navarro has received major awards including the California Polytechnic State University Office of Diversity & Inclusion Research Fellowship (2020-2021), Pride Center Faculty Ally of the Year (2016-2017), and President's Diversity Award (2015). His influence extends through editorial work, co-editing a special issue of Diálogo on Latina/o Noir, and completing a book, The Reel Barrio: The History and Politics of Chicana/o Gang Film. He contributes to public discourse on race, culture, and decolonial politics via field research and senior projects.