Michael J. Roberts
Professor
Office: NH-213
Email: [email protected]
My teaching and research interests are in the areas of critical theory, cultural studies, the culture and history of surfing, science and technology studies, the U.S. labor movement, the intersectionality of race and class, and the cultural history of rock-and-roll. I did my graduate work in sociology and cultural studies at the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York where I earned by PhD in 2005. I was mentored by the late, great Stanley Aronowitz.
About teaching: I am the recipient of 7 teaching awards, 5 of which I received since joining the faculty at San Diego State. I have also created several new courses for the university and helped develop two new minors: Science Technology and Society and Sport and Society. Courses that I regularly teach include classical social theory, contemporary social theory, the cultural and historical origins of surfing, and modern surfing and globalized society.
About research: my first book, Tell Tchaikovsky the News: Rock’n’roll, The Labor Question and the Musicians’ Union, 1942-1968 (Duke University Press, 2014) was nominated for the Mary Douglas Prize for “best book” by the Sociology of Culture Section of the American Sociological Association. My more recent books include the co-edited volumes Nietzsche and Critical Social Theory (Brill, 2020) and Class: The Anthology (Wiley, 2017). Other publications include several peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. You can find information about those publications as well as my contributions to curriculum development at SDSU by checking out my CV linked above.
My current research is in the area of sport and society, with a particular focus upon the critical theory of surfing and skateboarding. You can find my most recent work in this area in my co-edited book, Roll and Flow: The Cultural Politics of Skateboarding and Surfing (San Diego State University Press, 2024).
I am also co-founder of the Surf and Skate Studies Collaborative at SDSU. We organized and hosted the 2023 conference titled, The Stoke Sessions: An International Conference on the History, Culture and Politics of Surfing and Skateboarding. Tony and Steve Hawk as well as Selema Masekela were keynote speakers at our conference. You can learn more about our faculty collaborative, including our new journal and the conferences we organized on our website. Our plan is to make San Diego State University a global hub for the rapidly growing fields of surf and skate studies.