Paul Lopez

Biography

Dr. Paul López is Professor of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies. He earned his Bachelors of Arts degree in Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Northridge (Northridge, CA). His Master’s degree in Sociology was earned at the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, IN), and his Ph.D. in Sociology was earned at Northeastern University (Boston, MA).

In 2002, he accepted a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Center for Chicano Studies at U.C. Santa Barbara, where he spent the academic year (2002-2003) collecting oral histories of former Mexican braceros (or guest workers) who came to the United States as part of the former U.S.-Mexico Bracero Program (1942-1964). Overall, he has collected 50 oral histories of these former braceros. All of the oral histories were collected in California, and he recently collected several oral histories in Rio de San Antonio, Michoacán, Mexico. He has published two books on the former bracero program, and his second book, Que Fronteras: Mexican Braceros and a Re-examination of the Legacy of Migration was published as a second edition, with a recent update on the introduction chapter accounting for the rise of white supremacy and its effect on Mexican immigration to the U.S. 

Beyond Chico State, Dr. López served as a historical consultant for the Pasadena Playhouse for the play titled, Of Mice and Men that was adapted from the classic Steinbeck book of the same name. He also appeared in the PBS film, Los Braceros: Strong Arms to Aid the USA. He has also presented his research at international, national, regional, and local conferences. One of his more memorable presentations was presenting his bracero research at the Centro de Investigaciones sobre América del Norte Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México México. D.F. México. He has also served as a consultant for his expertise on labor market discrimination, and citizenship rights of former Mexican guest workers now settled in the U.S. by attorneys seeking his expertise on such matters.

Dr. López has also served as a program reviewer for several departments. At Portland State University, he reviewed the Chicano/Latino Studies program, and the Chicano/Latino Studies Department at California State University, Long Beach.

He remains active as a peer reviewer for the following journals and book publishers, Bilingual Press, Sage Publishers, Lexington Publishers, Rowland and Littlefield, ATINER’s on-line Paper Series, Books and Journals, Ethnicities, and Allyn and Bacon. He recently completed reviewing two manuscripts for an upcoming issue for the Bilingual Press on the Mexican Government’s sponsored program BECA’s, that gave Chicanas and Chicanos the opportunity to pursue advanced degrees in Mexico during the 1960s and 1970’s.

Finally, he is currently been working on his next project. Examining the migration and settlement of now elderly and former Mexican braceros to the United States. He has been drafting a book manuscript for submission to peer review academic presses during his current sabbatical leave during the fall of 2022. He remains interested in the social-historical examination of Mexican immigration to the United States, and continues to pursue several different projects related to that subject matter.

Research

His areas of expertise are Mexican/Immigration, Labor Market Inequality, Chicanx and Latinx Studies, Guest Workers, and Social Capital.

Additionally, he has started to collect the oral histories of the wives of former braceros with the intention of writing about their experiences as wives of braceros impacted by the migration of their husbands to the United States. A review of the literature has little to no research conducted on their migration experience as wives of former braceros who settled in the U.S. following the end of the program in 1964.

Publications

 Introduction. In Paul López, (editor). ¿Que Fronteras? Mexican Braceros and a Re-examination of the Legacy of Migration. Kendall/Hall Publishers. Dubuque, IA. 2^nd Edition.

Brown Power/Chicano Movement and Chicano Moratorium. In Lavariega Monforti, (editor). Latinos in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Latinos as Voters, Candidates, and Office Holders. ABC-CLIO.

Bracero Program. In Frederick F. Wherry, and Golson, J. Geoffrey (editor). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Economics and Society.

A Response: Continuity and Change in Hispanic Identity. Ethnicities. Sage Publishers

Reflections on Research Perspectives and Strategies, In Alberto L. Pulido, Barbara Driscoll de Alvardo, and Carmen Samora, (editors). Moving Beyond Borders: Julian Samora and the Establishment of Latino Studies. University of Illinois Press

Courses Offered

Prior to coming to Chico State, Dr. López taught at Boise State University, University of San Francisco, U.C. Santa Barbara, Northeastern University, Northern Essex Community College, Fisher College, Santa Barbara City College, Southwestern College, Grossmont College, and several other colleges and universities. He has extensive teaching experience having taught several different courses at Chico State.

• Chicano Studies 157: Introduction to Chicano Studies
• Chicano Studies 358: Chicanos in Contemporary Society
• Chicano Studies 458: Chicanos and Latinos: A Cross-Cultural Approach
• Sociology 100: Introduction to Sociology
• Sociology 105: Social Problems
• Multicultural and Gender Studies 155: Introduction to Multicultural and Gender Studies.
• Chicanx and Latinx Studies 157: Introduction to Latinx Studies
• Chicanx and Latinx 203: Latinx Film: Representation, Resistance, and Disruption.
• Chicanx and Latinx Studies 358: Latinx in Contemporary Society and Social Justice
• Chicanx and Latinx Studies 415: Latinx and Immigration
• Chicanx and Latinx Studies 416: Latinx in the Labor Market.