Jenell Navarro
Chair, Ethnic Studies Department
Associate Professor, Ph.D. Cultural Studies
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Areas of Interest
- Women of Color Feminism
- Cultural Studies
- Decolonial Studies
Contact Information
- Office: Bldg. 38, Rm. 136B
- Phone: 805-756-1467
- Email: jnavar18@calpoly.edu
About Jenell Navarro
Jenell Navarro received her Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from Claremont Graduate University in 2011. Her expertise and publications fall within the fields of Indigenous Studies and Hip-Hop Studies.
Her article titled "Solarize-ing Native Hip-Hop: Native Feminist Land Ethics and Cultural Resistance" looks at the possibilities of Indigenous artists to outline a more holistic and decolonizing land ethic for the twenty-first century and is published in the journal Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society. Additionally, she has worked on the importance of Indigenous language revitalization through the medium of hip-hop. In her article "WORD: Hip-Hop, Language, and Indigeneity in the Americas" she underscores the educational and resurgent possibilities for Indigenous cultures through the use of hip-hop as a revolutionary tool. Moreover, she also works within the area of Latina/o Studies, particularly within Indigenous Latina/o Studies. One example of this work is her contributions to the art exhibit at the University of California at Santa Barbara titled "Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Roots, Resistance and Resurgence." In this exhibit she wrote all the texts for the contemporary Chicana/o and Latina/o graphics.
The courses she teaches also reflect these areas including: ES 112: Race, Culture and Politics in the U.S., ES 310: Hip-Hop, Politics and Poetics, ES 340: Latina/o Cultural Productions, and ES 390: Research Methods in Comparative Ethnic Studies.
Selected Publications
Lethabo-King, Tiffany, Jenell Navarro, and Andrea Smith. “Beyond Incommensurability: Towards an Otherwise Stance on Black and Indigenous Relationality.” Otherwise Worlds: Against Settler Colonialism and Anti-Blackness. Duke University Press. In Press.
Navarro, Jenell, and Kimberly Robertson. “The Countdown Remix: Why Two Native Feminists Ride with Queen Bey.” Otherwise Worlds: Against Settler Colonialism and Anti-Blackness. Duke University Press. In Press.
Navarro, Jenell, and José Navarro. “Braided Together: Native and Black Hip-Hop Against Police Violence.” Thinking about Hip-Hop: Blackness, Indigeneity, and Identity. Edited By Awad Ibrahim, Audrey Hudson, and Kyle T. Mays. Sense Publishers. Forthcoming.
Laura Harjo, Jenell Navarro, and Kimberly Robertson. “Leading with Our Hearts: Anti-Violence Action and Beadwork Circles as Colonial Resistance.” Keetsahnak: Our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Sisters. Edited by Kim Anderson, Maria Campbell, and Christi Belcourt. University of Alberta Press, 2018. pp. 279-303.
Navarro, Jenell. “The Promise of the Jaguar: Indigeneity in Contemporary Chican@ Graphic Art.” rEvista: A Multimedia and Multigenre Journal for Social Justice. 5.2 (2017): 23-40.
Navarro, Jenell. “WORD: Hip-Hop, Language, and Indigeneity in the Americas.” Journal of Critical Sociology. 42.4-5 (2016): 567-581.
Navarro, Jenell. “Solarize-ing Native Hip-Hop: Native Feminist Land Ethics and Cultural Resistance.” Journal of Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society. 3.1 (2014).
Awards
University Nominee, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Emerging Scholars Award (2018).
Office of University Inclusion and Diversity Mentoring Award, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA (Winter-Spring 2018: $2000)
President’s Faculty Diversity Award, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA (Spring 2017: $500)
Assigned Time Award, Exceptional Level of Service to Students, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Spring 2018 and Spring 2019)
University Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA (2015-2016: $2,000)
Mustang Mentor, Mentoring Award from the Athletic Department, California Polytechnic State University, CA (2016)