Rate My Professor Christopher Chavez

Christopher Chavez is the Carolyn S. Chambers Distinguished Professor of Advertising in the Communications faculty at the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication. He also serves as Director of the Center for Latina/o and Latin American Studies. Chavez holds a PhD from the University of Southern California in 2009, an MA from the same institution in 2006, another MA in 1995, and a BS from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in 1993. He joined the University of Oregon in 2013 following his tenure as an assistant professor at Saint Louis University. Prior to his academic career, Chavez worked as an advertising executive at agencies such as Goodby Silverstein & Partners, TBWA/Chiat/Day, and Venables Bell & Partners.

Chavez's research lies at the intersection of globalization, media, and culture, exploring how global media industries organize and reorganize collective identity and the degree to which marginalized communities can be empowered within marketplace dynamics. His specializations include advertising, TV commercials, communication theory, persuasive communication, cultural studies, gender and race in media, media diversity, popular culture, media studies, and globalization, with expertise in popular culture, television, advertising trends, race, ethnicity, and representations of Latinos and LGBTQ communities. He has authored The Sound of Exclusion: NPR and the Latinx Public (2021), Reinventing the Latino Television Viewer: Language, Ideology, and Practice (2015), and Isle of Rum: Havana Club, Cultural Mediation, and the Fight for Cuban Authenticity (2024), and co-edited Identity: Beyond Tradition and McWorld Neoliberalism (2012). Peer-reviewed publications appear in Consumption, Markets and Culture, International Journal of Communication, and Critical Studies in Media Communication. Chavez received the University of Oregon's Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Research Award (2022), Faculty Excellence Award (2018), and Early Career Award in Research Excellence (2015).