Dr. Oliver Wang, Professor

ow.jpgEmail: oliver.wang@csulb.edu

Office: PSY-140
Phone: (562) 985–4600

Pronouns: he/him

Main Courses:

  • Principles of Sociology (SOC 100)
  • Social Problems (SOC 142)
  • Popular Culture (SOC 447)
  • Honors Thesis (488/89H)
  • Arts, Culture and Los Angeles (UHP 101)

Research Interests: Popular culture/music, race and ethnicity, identity and community formation.

Education:

  • B.A. Sociology, U.C. Berkeley, 1994
  • M.A., Ph.D. Ethnic Studies, U.C. Berkeley, 2004

Selected publications:

  • Wang, O. (2022). “Gerald Wilson—’Viva Tirado'(1962).” One-Track Mind: Capitalism, Technology, and the Art of the Pop Song (pp. 26-42). Routledge.
  • Wang, O. (2019). “Live at the China Royal: A Funky Ode to Fall River’s Chow Mein Sandwich.” American Chinese Restaurants: Society, Culture and Consumption (pp. 105-120). Routledge.
  • Wang, O. (2019). “Microwave DJs: A Revisit of Farrugia and Swiss’s ‘Tracking the DJs’ (JPMS, 17.1). Journal of Popular Music Studies, 31(1) (pp. 53-60).
  • Sakakeeny, M., and Wang, O. (2018). “The ‘Tuba Fats’ Riff.” 64 Parishes (pp. 30-31).
  • Legions of Boom: Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews of the San Francisco Bay Area. Duke University Press (2015)
  • “Everybody Loves an Underdog: Learning From Linsanity.” Asian American Sporting Cultures. Ed. S. Thangaraj, C. Arnaldo, C. Chin. New York: NYU Press (2016): 75-101.
  • “Learning From Los Kogi Angeles: A Taco Truck and Its City.” Eating Asian America: A Food Studies Reader. Ed. R. Ku, M. Manalansan, and A. Mannur. New York: NYU Press (2013): 78-97.
  • “The Comfort Zone: Shaping the Retro-Soul Audience.” Pop When the World Falls Apart. Ed. E. Weisbard. Durham, NC: Duke University Press (2012): 201-29.
  • “The Journey of “Viva Tirado”: A Musical Conversation within Afro-Chicano Los Angeles.” Journal of Popular Music Studies, 22.4 (2010): 348-66.
  • “To Live and Dine in Kogi L.A..” Contexts (Fall 2009)
  • “Rapping and Repping Asian: Race, Authenticity, and the Asian American MC.” Alien Encounters : Popular Culture in Asian America. Ed. M. Nguyen, T. Tu. Durham, NC: Duke University Press (2007): 35-68.
  • “These Are The Breaks: Hip-Hop and AfroAsian Cultural (Dis)Connections.” AfroAsian encounters : culture, history, politics. Ed. H. Raphael-Hernandez, S. Steen. New York: NYU Press (2006): 146-64.
  • “Between the Notes: Finding Asian America in Popular Music.” American Music 19.4 (2001): 439-465.

Fellowships, Awards, Honors:

  • Project Curator for “Cruising J-Town: Nikkei Car Culture in Los Angeles” (Japanese American National Museum, 2025)