Luis Rodriguez

Dr. Luis Carlos Rodriguez spent his early years in Acatlán de Juarez, a small town south of Guadalajara in the Mexican state of Jalisco, migrating at a young age with his mother and younger brother to Southern California. His research, teaching interests, and pedagogy are influenced by his transnational, bilingual, and bicultural immigrant experience as well as being a first-generation college student.

Dr. Rodriguez, studied at the University of Southern California where he earned four degrees: a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts from the Roski School of Art and Design, and a Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in American Studies and Ethnicity from the Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences. His fields of expertise include Race, Gender, Ethnicity, Immigration History & Policy, Chicanx and Latinx Literature, Chicanx and Latinx History, Chicanx and Latinx Popular Culture and Globalization. He joined the department of Chicanx and Latinx Studies in 2018 and has also taught coursework for the Department of International Studies and the College of Professional and International Education.

Prior to joining , Dr. Rodriguez has taught at his alma mater, worked as a Community Organizer for The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) Local 11, served as an Immigration Reform Advocate for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor’s Coalition for Immigration Reform, Co-Founded the Immigrant and Workers’ Rights Social Justice group: JusTo: Just Tourism, has volunteered with the Coalition for Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), worked on several theatrical productions with The Latino Theater Company and performance art pieces with his “Guerilla Theater” troupe Los Undocumented, and was a disc jockey in Southern California night clubs. His writings have appeared in Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, LatinoLA.com, and his former alternative student news magazine column The Mex Files. His current project looks at Japanese and Mexican American interracial friendships in the roots of
Chicano Cinema and Popular Culture in mid-20th Century, Los Angeles.

Dr. Rodrguez enjoys hiking, popular cinema, and USC Trojan Football games. As an avid fan of Dodgers Baseball, he has rooted for “The Azul” since Fernando Valenzuela controlled the mound for the “Boys in Blue!”

“The Devil in Silicon Valley: Northern California, Race and Mexican Americans” Aztlán A Journal of Chicano Studies Volume 32, Number 2 (Fall 2007). (Book Review)

“Making Sense of ‘el Clamor Público:’ Last Monday's boycott was more than a lot of noise” Latino LA Forum Section (Web Published 5.7.2006)

 “Barrio Logos: Space and Place in Urban Chicano Literature and Culture” in Aztlán A Journal of Chicano Studies, Volume 30, Number 1 (Spring, 2005). (Book Review)

National Public Radio Interview with Madeline Brand, “Reactions to Thursday's Democratic presidential debate from a panel of Democratic voters in California” Day to Day (February 27, 2004).

“Staging American Studies,” Conceptual Visual Artwork for Crossing Borders Shaping Identities: New Directions in Ethnic Studies Conference, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.

“Collateral Culture: Neo-Colonialism and the Neo Virgins,” Public Performance and Short Film series, Village Gate Theater, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.

Editorial Columnist, “The Mex Files” in The Trojan Horse, Bimonthly Independent Student Newspaper of Politics, Art, and Culture, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.

Guest Columnist, LatinoLA.com, “Fandango Jarocho, A cultural Jam Session; festival a Symbol of our present and multiplicit LatinoLA,” LatinoLA, Arts & Entertainment Section. URL: (Web Published, 9.26.2002)

Guest Columnist, LatinoLA.com, “Transnational, Crosscultural & Multilingual; The Eastside Café challenges the Socioeconomic Agenda of a Global Los Angeles,” LatinoLA, Community Section. URL (Web Published, 6.3.2002)

Guest Columnist, LatinoLA.com, “Extending the Rights of Education,” LatinoLA, Forum Section. URL (Web Published, 12.12.2001).

Guest Columnist, LatinoLa.com, “Tragedy a Test of US Ideals,” LatinoLA, Forum Section. URL   (Web Published, 9.13.2001)

Production Designer “Espíritu” Written and Directed by Maria Elena Chavez. Produced by Marisol Rivas and Carmen Gonzalez. Norris Theater, University of Southern California.

Guest Columnist, LatinoLa.com, “La Isla Loca, or ‘My [Culture] Don’t Cost a Thing’ ” LatinoLA, Forum Section. URL   (Web Published, 3.19.2001)

Guest Columnist, LatinoLa.com, “¡Trucha!” LatinoLA, Forum Section. URL (Web Published, 1.30.2001)

Guest Columnist, LatinoLa.com, “Cultural Orgasm, Illuminating Luminarias,” LatinoLA, Arts and Entertainment Section. URL (Web Published, 5.17.2000)

Producer, Actor, “Los Biombos, The Screens,” Directed by Peter Sellars, Produced by Cornerstone Theater Company, East Los Angeles Skills Center, Los Angeles, California.

Set Coordinator, “La Virgen del Tepeyac,” Directed by José Luís Valenzuela, Produced by The Latino Theater Company, Saint Alphonsus Catholic Church, Los Angeles, California.

Assistant Set Designer, “How else am I Supposed to Know I am Still Alive” & “Premeditation,” Directed by José Luís Valenzuela, Produced by The Latino Theater Company, Plaza de la Raza Cultural Center for the Arts & Education, Lincoln Park, East Los Angeles, California.

Ph.D. American Studies and Ethnicity, Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, The University of Southern California.

Master of Arts, American Studies and Ethnicity, Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, The University of Southern California.

Future Professoriate Program Certificate, The Center for Excellence in Teaching, Office of the Provost, University of Southern California.

Bachelor of Arts, American Studies and Ethnicity, Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, University of Southern California.

Bachelor of Arts, Interdisciplinary Studio Arts, The Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California.

  • CHLS 104
  • CHLS 105
  • CHLS 119
  • CHLS 300
  • CHLS 305
  • CHLS 310
  • CHLS 320
  • CHLS 335
  • SOC 340
  • CHLS 341
  • CHLS 350
  • CHLS 400

  • Comparative Racial and Ethnic Studies in the U.S.
  • American Studies, Racial Studies
  • Gender Studies
  • Immigration Studies
  • Latinx and Asian Immigration
  • Popular Culture, Media Studies
  • Film Studies
  • Music Studies
  • Latinx Visual and Performance Art Globalization
  • American Literature
  • Mexican American and Latino Literature in the U.S.
  • U.S. History
  • Mexican American History
  • Latinx History
  • Native Peoples of the Americas
  • Religions of Latin America
  • The Peoples and Cultures of the Americas