Contact Information
Fields of Interest
Biography
José Jorge Mendoza is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Washington and an editor at Radical Philosophy Review. His primary areas of interest are in political philosophy, philosophy of race, and Latin American philosophy. His current research deals with topics concerning migration ethics, Latinx identity, and racial justice.
Dr. Mendoza is the author of The Moral and Political Philosophy of Immigration: Liberty, Security, and Equality (Lexington Books 2017), which is focused on making a philosophical case for immigrant rights and arguing against unjust forms of immigration enforcement. His articles have appeared in journals such as the Journal of Speculative Philosophy, Public Affairs Quarterly, Critical Philosophy of Race, and Philosophy in the Contemporary World.
Dr. Mendoza received his B.A. from the University of California at San Diego (2002), M.A. from San Francisco State University (2006), and Ph.D. from the University of Oregon (2012). Prior to arriving at the University of Washington (Autumn 2020), he was a visiting professor at Wheaton College (2012) and an assistant professor at both Worcester State University (2012-2015) and the University of Massachusetts Lowell (2015-2020).
Research
Selected Research
- Review of Carlos Alberto Sanchez's Blooming in the Ruins: How Mexican Philosophy Can Guide Us Toward the Good Life (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2024) in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews at https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/blooming-in-the-ruins-how-mexican-philosophy-can-guide-us-toward-the-good-life/
- “The Latinx Racial Disintegration Thesis: Whiteness, Democracy, and Latinx Identity” in Latinx Philosophy: An Anthology, ed. Manuel Vargas, Lori Gallegos, and Francisco Gallegos, New York, NY: Routledge (2025): 420-442.
- José Jorge Mendoza, “What’s The Trouble With “Latinx”? A Qualified Defense of a Vilified Term” APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy 24.1 (2024): 2-7. Download PDF
- Mendoza, José Jorge. "Go Back to Where You Came From!: Racism, Xenophobia, and White Nationalism." American Philosophical Quarterly 60 no.4 (2023): 397–410.
- Wirts, Amelia M., José Jorge Mendoza. "The Undermining Mechanisms of ‘Rule of Law’ Objections: A Response to Song and Bloemraad" The Ethics of Migration Policy Dilemmas Project, Migration Policy Centre (MPC), European University Institute (2022): 1-5.
- Review of Alex Sager, Against Borders: Why the World Needs Free Movement of People (New York, NY: Rowman and Littlefield International, 2020) in Radical Philosophy Review 25.1.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. "The Border Security Industry and the Second Refugee Crisis." Puncta 5 no.3 (2022): 72-81.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. "Decolonizing Immigration Justice" in Latin American Immigration Ethics, edited by Amy Reed-Sandoval and Luis Rubén Díaz Cepeda, 44-70. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2021.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. "Concepts as Tools Not Rules: a Commentary on (Re-) Defining Racism." Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 24 no. 2 (2021): 661-666.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. "Socially Undocumented Oppression: 'Goldilocks' Liberalism or Something New?" Philosophy Today 64 no. 4 (2020): 973-977.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. “Crimmigration and the Ethics of Migration." Social Philosophy Today 36 no.1 (2020): 49-68.
- Review of Elizabeth F. Cohen, Illegal: How America's lawless immigration regime threatens us all (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2020), in Contemporary Political Theory (2020).
- Review of Serena Parekh, Refugees and the Ethics of Forced Displacement (New York, NY: Routledge, 2017), in Global Justice: Theory, Practice, Rhetoric (2019).
- Mendoza, José Jorge. “Latinx Philosophy and the Ethics of Migration.” In Latin American and Latinx Philosophy: A Collaborative Introduction, edited by Robert Eli Sanchez, 198-219. New York, NY: Routledge, 2019.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. “Discrimination and Immigration.” In The Routledge Handbook of the Ethics of Discrimination, edited by Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen, 254-263. New York, NY: Routledge, 2018.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. “Philosophy of Race and the Ethics of Immigration.” In The Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Race, edited by Paul C. Taylor, Linda Alcoff, and Luvell Anderson, 507-519. New York, NY: Routledge, 2018.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. “The Contradiction of Crimmigration.” APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy 17, no. 2 (2018): 6-9.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. “Latinx and the Future of Whiteness in American Democracy.” APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy 16, no. 2 (2017): 6-10.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. The Moral and Political Philosophy of Immigration: Liberty, Security, and Equality. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2017.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. “Illegal: White Supremacy and Immigration Status.” In The Ethics and Politics of Immigration: Emerging Trends, edited by Alex Sager, 201-220. London UK: Rowman & Littlefield International, 2016.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. “Enforcement Matters: Reframing the Philosophical Debate Over Immigration.” Journal of Speculative Philosophy 29. no.1 (2015): 73-90.
- Mendoza, José Jorge.“Discrimination and the Presumptive Rights of Immigrants.” Critical Philosophy of Race 2, no.1 (2014): 68-83.
- Mendoza, José Jorge. "Two Turntables and Microphone: Hip Hop and Philosophy" Philosophical Installations