Robert Jiles, PhD

Robert D. Jiles is an Assistant Professor of African American Studies. Dr. Jiles earned a PhD in American Studies and a graduate certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a M.P.S. in Africana Studies from Cornell University. He earned a B.A. in English Composition and Literature from California State University, San Bernardino.

His research interests include African American history and culture, black queer studies, internet studies, and visual culture. An overall focus is on inter and intra group politics in black communities. His current work is a continuation of his dissertation research. It examines how black gay and bisexual men use internet technology to create and view visual images in web series and short films that represent their everyday lived experiences. The work further considers how their visual stories articulate broader notions of blackness and community.

He is also working on an oral history project about the working-class black community in Palm Springs California. The research will focus on processes of community building and acts of resilience as members of the community confronted racial discrimination.

Dr. Jiles is the faculty advisor for the Black Student Union.