My experiences as an educator and former organizer and non-profit community worker have led me to develop a collective and interactive learning pedagogical approach. My point of departure is that students already have a wealth of knowledge and experiences from which I can draw from and so I begin with what my students already know. I proceed to fill in gaps, build upon on their experiences and elaborate on the topics, themes or issues that I want them to think about critically. To spur discussion I incorporate media that helps contextualize the readings, and then ask students to respond. I use these methods because they have composed the more meaningful learning experiences that I have had; where students engage in lively discussion, contextualizing the material and apply it in an argument, thus making the material matter to them because they can relate to it. I believe that knowledge is something that should be arrived at collectively by people engaging in and sharing diverse ideas and knowledge.

Courses Taught

California State University, Dominguez Hills

Labor Studies
Introduction to Labor Studies, Workers and Power
Decade of the Sixties
The American Dream
​Racial Capitalism

California State University, Long Beach

Chicano and Latino Studies
Wealth and Poverty in Latino Communities
Chicano and Latino Politics
Asian and Latino Immigration
Chicano and Latino Life
Introduction to Chicano and Latino Studies
The Chicano Movement
1492 and Beyond
Political Science
Racial and Ethnic Politics in the U.S.
How Democratic is the U.S.?
The Media and American Politics
Comparative Political Movements
Politics Through Culture
California Politics
Introduction to American Government

California State University, Los Angeles

Chicanos and Latinos and the Constitution

University of California, Irvine

Chicano Latino Studies
​Introduction to Race and Ethnicity
Current Issues in the Chicano Latino Community
Chicano Movement
Political Science / Social Science
​Latin American Politics
Marxist Social Thought
Planning, Policy and Design
Urban Sociology
Latino Metropolis
Political Economic Theory and the Economic Crisis Seminar

Teaching Assistant, UC Irvine

​Political Sociology
Current Issues in Chicano Latino Studies
Sociology of Race
Ethnicity and Nationality
Introduction to Chicano Latino Studies
Sociology Undergraduate Seminar
Introduction to Sociology, Political Sociology.
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Sample Syllabi