Rafael Martinez Orozco
Biography
Rafael Martínez is an assistant professor of Southwest Borderlands in the College of Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication. Rafael’s work focuses on immigration, migration, the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, and the American Southwest. At ASU, he teaches courses on the American Southwest, the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, and Popular Culture Issues. Rafael is also a Program Faculty for the MA Narrative Studies program in CISA.
As an advocate of community-based-history projects, Rafael is engaged in public projects that seek to connect academic work with community development. As such, he is a current recipient of Knowledge Exchange for Resilience Fellowship where he is co-creating community based research on undocumented populations in the Phoenix Valley. Rafael is part of the inaugural Interdisciplinary Solutions for Social Impact Graduate Faculty program.
Additionally, Rafael is the co-founder of the statewide oral history project, Humans of New Mexico, and also UndocuTalks, a podcast on immigrant rights through an undocumented perspective.
Education
- Ph.D. University of New Mexico (2020), American Studies
- M.A. University of New Mexico (2014), American Studies
- B.B. California State University, Dominguez Hills (2012), History and Chicana and Chicano Studies
Research Interests
Rafael Martinez's research interests include: immigration and migration, undocumented youth social movements and identities around illegalization and DACAmented status.
He approaches these research themes and topics through research medthods such as: oral histories, testimonials, storytelling, digital humanities and digital archives, and media productions.
Publications
Martínez, Rafael. “Transformative Borders in Cinema: Evolving Concepts of Migrant Crossings.” La Frontera: Reflections on Borders in American Culture, edited by Judit Agnes Kadar and Andras Tarnoc. Americana eBooks, 2017. https://ebooks.americanaejournal.hu/books/la-frontera/
Martinez, Rafael A., Schreiber, Rebecca, “Sovereignty and Sanctuary: A Roundtable,”Chiricú Journal: Latina/o Literatures, Arts, and Cultures. Indiana University, 2018. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2979/chiricu.3.issue-1
Martínez, Rafael, Orozco, Froilan, Canales-Navarrete, Nancy. “‘Even if you’re not going to plant, use your water:’ Forging Identity Through Cultural Practices.” Chamisa: A Journal of Literacy, Performance, and Visual Arts of the Greater Southwest, vol. 1, no. 1, 2021, p. 101-116. https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/chamisa/
Courses
| Spring 2022 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| HST 448 | Mexican/U.S. Border |
| HST 493 | Honors Thesis |
| ABS 592 | Research |
| TSS 593 | Applied Project |
| GRD 593 | Applied Project |
| EPA 598 | Special Topics |
| Fall 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| HST 343 | American Southwest |
| HST 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| COM 510 | Transmedia Narratives |
| Spring 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| HST 448 | Mexican/U.S. Border |
| TSS 593 | Applied Project |
| GRD 593 | Applied Project |
| TWC 593 | Applied Project |
| EPA 598 | Special Topics |
| Fall 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Course Number | Course Title |
| ENG 245 | Popular Culture Issues |
| HST 343 | American Southwest |