Jonathan Rosa

Jonathan Rosa is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education, Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, and, by courtesy, Departments of Anthropology, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature at Stanford University. He serves as Director of Stanford's Program in Chicanx-Latinx Studies and has held leadership positions including President of the Association of Latina/o and Latinx Anthropologists of the American Anthropological Association.

Dr. Rosa's educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology from the University of Chicago (2010)
• M.A. in Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology from the University of Chicago (2006)
• B.A. in Linguistics and Educational Studies from Swarthmore College (2003)

Dr. Rosa's research examines the co-naturalization of language and race as a key feature of modern governance, tracking colonially structured interrelations among racial marginalization, linguistic stigmatization, and institutional inequity. His scholarship centers on raciolinguistic ideologies, Latinx studies, and educational justice, with a community-based approach that develops tools for challenging systemic vulnerability. He investigates how race and language are jointly defined across historical, geopolitical, and institutional contexts, with particular focus on Latinx communities and educational settings.

His recent publications demonstrate a consistent thematic focus on decolonizing linguistic and educational frameworks, challenging standard language ideologies, and examining the intersections of race, language, and power. The work spans multiple disciplines including sociolinguistics, anthropology, education, and critical race studies, increasingly emphasizing undoing raciolinguistics and addressing coloniality in language education and assessment practices.

Dr. Rosa has received numerous prestigious awards for his scholarship:

• Distinguished Summer Scholar, Banks Center for Educational Justice, University of Washington College of Education (2024)
• Outstanding Book of the Year Award for "Looking like a Language, Sounding like a Race," American Association of Teaching and Curriculum (2022)
• First Book Award for "Looking like a Language, Sounding like a Race," American Association for Applied Linguistics (2021)
• Prose Award for Excellence in Language & Linguistics for "Looking like a Language, Sounding like a Race," Association of American Publishers (2020)
• Charles A. Ferguson Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Center for Applied Linguistics (2018)

Dr. Rosa actively mentors doctoral students across multiple programs, serving as primary advisor for students researching race, ethnicity, language, and education. His research has been supported by major grants from the National Science Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, and Ford Foundation. He collaborates extensively with community organizations, particularly in Chicago, to develop educational approaches grounded in decolonial praxis, focusing on how scholarship can serve as a platform for social transformation.

Dr. Rosa co-directed Stanford's Center for Global Ethnography (2021-2023) and directed Stanford's Program in Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies (2020-2023). He serves on multiple editorial boards including Current Anthropology and Equity & Excellence in Education, and has held leadership positions in professional organizations including President of the Association of Latina/o and Latinx Anthropologists (2020-2022).