Rubén Martínez headshot

Rubén Martínez

Adjunct Professor

Part-Time Faculty
Socials

Biography

Rubén Martínez, a native of Los Angeles and the son and grandson of immigrants from Mexico and El Salvador, is a writer, teacher and performer. He holds the Fletcher Jones Chair in Literature and Writing at Loyola Marymount University and is the author of several books, including Desert America: A Journey Across Our Most Divided Landscape and Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail. He is the host of the VARIEDADES performance series. His most recent production, "Little Central America, 1984" received a New England Foundation for the Arts national touring grant and will be staged in Washington, D.C., Houston, Tx and Berkeley, Ca.

Expertise

  • Literary studies
  • Chicanx Latinx studies
  • Central American studies

Research Areas

  • Immigration
  • Latinx and Latin American literatures 
  • Borderlands studies
  • Theology

Prior Experience

  • Current Fletcher Jones Chair in Literature and Writing, Loyola Marymount University.

Awards & Distinctions

  • New England Foundation for the Arts National Theater Creation & Touring Grant
  • Lannan Fellowship in Literature for Non-Fiction
  • Loeb Fellowship, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University
  • Freedom of Information Award, American Civil Liberties Union
  • Emmy Award, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

Selected Publications

  • Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail
  • Desert America: A Journey Across our Most Divided Landscape
  • The New Americans: Seven Families
  • The Other Side: Notes from the New L.A., Mexico City & Beyond