George Sanchez

Professor of American Studies and Ethnicity and History
Pronouns He / Him / His Email georges@usc.edu Office ADM 304 Office Phone (213) 740-2426

Research & Practice Areas

(Ph.D., Stanford University, 1989) Professor of ASE and History: Chicano/a immigration, American West.

Center, Institute & Lab Affiliations

  • Center for Diversity and Democracy, Director

Biography

GEORGE J. SANCHEZ is Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity, and History at the University of Southern California. He is the author of _Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945_ (Oxford, 1993), co-editor of _Los Angeles and the Future of Urban Cultures_ (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005) and _Civic Engagement in the Wake of Katrina_ (University of Michigan Press, 2009), and author of “’What’s Good for Boyle Heights is Good for the Jews’: Creating Multiracialism on the Eastside During the 1950s,” _American Quarterly_ 56:3...

Education

  • Ph.D. History, Stanford University, 6/1989
  • M.A. History, Stanford University, 6/1984
  • B.A. History and Sociology, Harvard University, 6/1981
  • Tenure Track Appointments

    • Associate Professor, University of Michigan, 09/01/1993 – 08/31/1997
    • Assistant Professor, University of California, Los Angeles, 09/01/1988 – 08/31/1993

    Visiting and Temporary Appointments

    • Adjunct Professor in American Studies, The Center for the Study of the Americas, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, 2004 – 2009
  • Summary Statement of Research Interests

    Professor Sanchez researches historical and contemporary topics of race, gender, ethnicity, labor, and immigration. Currently, he is working on two projects: a book on the impact of contemporary Mexican migration on the culture and politics of Los Angeles at the end of the 20th century, and a historical study of the ethnic interaction of Mexican-Americans, Japanese-Americans and Jews in the Boyle Heights area of East Los Angeles.

    Research Specialties

    (Ph.D., Stanford University, 1989) Professor of ASE and History: Chicano/a immigration, American West.

  • Contracts and Grants Awarded

    • ENHANCING DIVERSITY AT USC: THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN STUDIES, (Irvine Foundation), George Sanchez, $3,600,000, 03/08/2001 – 09/07/2005

    USC Funding

    • Advancing Scholarship in the Humanities & Social Sciences. “The House We Live In”: Race, Difference and the Genealogy of “Group Relations” Across Disciplines: This project examines how disciplines in the humanities and social sciences understand “group relations” between the more established African American community and the emerging Latino community., $25000, 2007-2008
  • Conference Presentations

    • A Perspective from a Historian and a Chair , Modern Language Association annual conferenceRoundtable/Panel, Invited, Los Angeles, California, Spring 2011
    • Global Migrations into U.S. Multiracial Communities in the Early 20th Century Lecture/Seminar, A.E. Havens Center for the Study of Social Structu, Invited, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Spring 2011
    • The Role of High School Tensions in Understanding Black-Latino Interaction in the 1960s and 1970s Lecture/Seminar, A.E. Havens Center for the Study of Social Structu, Invited, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Spring 2011
    • Anti-Immigration Movements and Nativism in Historical Perspective , Sociology ForumTalk/Oral Presentation, California Polytechnic University at Pomona, Invited, Pomona, California, Fall 2010
    • Borders, Bridges, and Transnational Neighborhoods: The Case of Boyle Heights, California Lecture/Seminar, Middlebury College, Invited, Middlebury, Vermont, Fall 2010
    • Expanding Notions of ‘The Public’ in Public History and Humanities: Notes from the Field Keynote Lecture, Drew University, Invited, Madison, New Jersey, Spring 2010
    • The Future of Diversity , Arts and Humanities ConferenceKeynote Lecture, The Ohio State University, Invited, Columbus, Ohio, Spring 2009
    • Challenging the Borders of Civic Engagement: Ethnic Studies and the Meaning of Community Democracy , Connecting Communities: The University and Multi-Ethnic Civic Engagement SymposiumKeynote Lecture, University of California, Irvine, Invited, Irvine, California, Spring 2008
    • Suburban Agonies and Urban Nightmares , Organization of American Historians annual conferenceRoundtable/Panel, Roundtable on “Where are Jews on America’s Multicu, Invited, New York, New York, Spring 2008
    • Approaching New Subjectivities: African American/Latino Relations in the Twentieth Century , American Historical AssociationComment, Atlanta, Georgia, Spring 2007
    • Fighting for the Right to Learn: Equity and Justice in the Corporate University , Humanities or Human Resources?: The Future of Ethnic Studies and Labor in the Corporate UniversityTalk/Oral Presentation, Department of American Studies, New York University, Spring 2007

    Other Presentations

    • Boyle Heights History and the Power of our Memories, Installation of New Officers, Los Angeles, California, 2011-2012
    • Boyle Heights Stories of Courage and Resiliency, Libros Schmibros Bookstore, Los Angeles, California, 2011-2012
    • The House of Quality: William Phillips and the Shaping of a Multiracial Boyle Heights, Concert in Honor of the Phillips Music Store, Los Angeles, California, 2011-2012
    • One Life in Academia, Keynote Talk, University of Southern California, 2010-2011
    • The Case for Reflective Engagement in University-Community Partnerships, American Cultures Spotlight Series, University of California, Berkeley, 2010-2011
    • Our Heritage, Our Boyle Heights, Boyle Heights Heritage Symposium, Tateuchi Democracy Forum, Japanese American National Museum, 2009-2010
    • Population Removals in Times of Crisis: Mexican Repatriation and Slum Clearance in the (Last) Great Depression, Keynote Presentation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2009-2010
    • Edward R. Roybal and the Politics of Multiracialism, W.P. Whitsett Lecture in California History, California State University, Northridge, Los Angeles, California, 2008-2009
    • Remembering Boyle Heights: Race and the Politics of Memory in Los Angeles, George A.V. Dunning Lecture, National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, Los Angeles, CA, 2006-2007
  • Book

    • Sanchez, G. J.Bridging Borders, Remaking Community: Racial Interaction in Boyle Heights, California in the 20th Century. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
    • Sanchez, George J. (Ed.). (2011). Beyond Alliances: The Jewish Role in Reshaping the Racial Landscape of Southern California. (Vol. 9, Purdue University Press: The Jewish Role in American Life: An Annual Review of the Casden Institute for the Study of the Jewish Role in American Life.
    • Sanchez, George J. and Amy Koritz (Ed.). (2009). Civic Engagement in the Wake of Katrina. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
    • Sanchez, G. J., Villa, R. H. (2005). Los Angeles and the Future of Urban Cultures. Johns Hopkins University Press.
    • Sanchez, G. J. (1993). Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900 – 1945, Oxford University Press, 1993. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Book Chapters

    • Sanchez, G. J. (2010). Disposable People, Expendable Neighborhoods. A Companion to Los Angeles pp. 129-146. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
    • Sanchez, G. J. (2002). ‘Y tu que?’: Latino History in the New Millenium. (Vol. 45-58) Berkeley and Los Angeles: Latinos!: Remaking America/University of California Press.

    Journal Article

    • Sanchez, G. J. (2010). Edward R. Roybal and the Politics of Multiracialism. Southern California Quarterly. Vol. 92 (1)
    • Sanchez, G. J. (2007). Confronting a Crisis in the Historical Profession. Perspectives: Newsmagazine of the American Historical Association. Vol. 45 (7), pp. 49-51.
    • Sanchez, G. J. (2004). ‘What’s Good for Boyle Heights is Good for the Jews’: Creating Multiracialism on the Eastside During the 1950s. American Quarterly/Johns Hopkins University Press. Vol. 56 (3)
    • Sanchez, G. J. (2003). Race and Immigration in Changing Communities of the United States. The Japanese Journal of American Studies. (14), pp. 7-20.
    • Sanchez, G. J. (2002). Working at the Crossroads: American Studies for the Twenty-First Century; Presidential Address to the American Studies Association, November 9, 2001. American Quarterly/Johns Hopkins University Press. Vol. 54 (1), pp. 1-23.
    • Sanchez, G. J. (2000). Creating the Multicultural Nation: Adventures in Post-national American Studies in the 1990s. Post-Nationalist American Studies / University of California Press.
    • Sanchez, G. J. (1997). Face the Nation: Race, Immigration, and the Rise Of Nativism in Late Twentieth Century America. International Migration Review. Vol. 31 (4)

    Research Report

    • Sanchez, G. J. (2007). The History of Segregation in Los Angeles: A Report on Racial Discrimination and Its Legacy. Scheff & Washington, PC, in legal case American Civil Rights Foundation v. Los Angeles Unified School District.
    • Sanchez, G. J. (2005). Crossing Figueroa: The Tangled Web of Diversity and Democracy. Position Papers from Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life, University of Michigan.
    • Sanchez, G. J., Tierney, W. G., Campbell, D. (2004). The Road Ahead: Improving Diversity in Graduate Education. CA: Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis.

    Proceedings

    • Sanchez, G. J. (2007). Regionalism: The Significance of Place in American Jewish Life. 2. pp. 124-127. Baltimore, MD. American Jewish History/The Johns Hopkins University Press.
    • One Day Conference Honoring Impact of Becoming Mexican American, Autry National Center of Western Heritage and History, Los Angeles, California, Fall 2011
    • USC or School/Dept Award for Teaching, 2011 Provost Mentoring Award, Spring 2011
    • First Equity Award from the American Historical Association in recognition of excellence in recruiting and retaining underrepresented racial and ethnic groups into the historic profession., Fall 2010
    • Outstanding Latino/a Faculty in Higher Education (Research Institutions) Award, American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, Inc., Spring 2010
    • W.P. Whitsett Lecturer in California History, California State University, Northridge, Spring 2009
    • Professor of the Month, Mortar Board Undergraduate Senior Honor Society, Fall 2007
    • Mellon Excellence in Mentoring Award for Mentoring Graduate Students, 2006-2007
    • Recipient of National or International Prize in Discipline, Constance Rourke Prize for Best Article published in the American Quarterly, 2005 – 2006
    • USC or School/Dept Award for Teaching, General Education Teaching Award, 2005-2006
    • National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship Recipient, Huntington Library, 2002 – 2003
  • Office Hours

      Tuesday : 2 – 4 pm, By appointment, call (213)740-2531
  • Administrative Appointments

    • Vice Dean for Diversity and Strategic Initiatives, 11/2010 –
    • Director, Center for Diversity and Democracy, 08/2007 –
    • Chair, 08/16/2024 – 08/15/2027
    • Faculty Director of the Mellon Mays Program, 08/16/2022 – 08/15/2024
    • Director of the Contemporary Latino and Latin American Studies (CLLA) major, 08/16/2020 – 08/15/2023
    • President of the Organization of American Historians, 08/16/2017 – 08/15/2023
    • Vice Dean for College Diversity, 12/2009 – 11/2010
    • Director of College Diversity, 04/2008 – 12/2009
  • Committees

    • Chair, Imagining America: Artists and Scholars in Public Life, National Advisory Board, 2007 – 2011
    • Chair, American Studies Association, Committee on Graduate Education, 2007 – 2010
    • Chair, Organization of American Historians, ALANA (Minority) Scholars Committee, 2007 – 2009
    • Member, Organization of American Historians, Nominating Committee, 2005 – 2009

    Conferences Organized

    • Chair & Organizer, Imagining America Annual Conference, Los Angeles, California, 2007 – 2008

    Editorships and Editorial Boards

    • Series Co-editor, American Crossroads: New Works in Ethnic Studies (Univ. of California Press), 1994 –

    Professional Offices

    • President, American Studies Association, 2001-2002

    Professional Memberships

    • American Historical Association, Minority Scholars Committee, 2004 – 2008
    • Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer, 2004 – 2007
    • American Studies Association Distinguished Lecturer, 2000 – 2007

    Media, Alumni, and Community Relations

    • Consultant, The Peopling of America Center, Ellis Island Foundation, –
    • Member, Board of Advisors, Studio for Southern California History, –
    • Member, Center for Civil and Human Rights Global Advisory Board, Atlanta, Georgia, –
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