Alfredo Carlos

Assistant Professor of Labor Studies

Contact Info

Dr. Alfredo Carlos proudly grew up in the LA/LB Harbor area in an immigrant working class family and community, which has informed his education and given him purpose to struggle for economic and racial justice in solidarity with working people trying to live with dignity. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Irvine where he specialized in the fields of Political Economy, and American Racial and Urban Politics. He earned his M.A. in Political Science from California State University, Long Beach with a focus in Comparative Politics and International Relations and has a B.A. in History and Chicano Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

His Research Interests revolve around Political Economy; Labor and Inequality; Economic Democracy and Worker and Community Ownership; Mexican, Chicano and Latino Politics; Racial and Ethnic Politics; Immigration; Social Movements;

He is the co-author of The Latino Question (Pluto, 2018), named “Best Book in Latino Politics” in 2019 by the American Political Science Association and is working on several articles and books on the Latino Working Class.

Prior to CSUDH

He recently served as the interim Director of Chicano Studies at Eastern Washington University (2021-2022) and was a former faculty member in Political Science at California State University, Long Beach (2013-2022). He is also the Founder & Director of the Foundation for Economic Democracy an organization that promotes democratic worker ownership of businesses and community ownership of land and housing.

What he enjoys about CSUDH?

“As someone who grew up in Carson and the Harbor area I am excited to work with students that come from the same types of working class communities I grew up in. Being at CSUDH is like coming home and I am excited to be a resource to our students and help connect them to social justice work in the LA and Harbor Areas.”

Interesting and Fun Fact about him:

He is a former (sometimes still) DJ, works on classic cars when he finds time and loves to BBQ Tri Tip.