Dr. Oliver Wang

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 WilsonViva 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 Rivers Chow Mein Sandwich. American Chinese Restaurants: Society, Culture and Consumption (pp. 105-120). Routledge.
  • Wang, O. (2019). Microwave DJs: A Revisit of Farrugia and Swisss 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).
  •  Duke University Press (2015)
  • Everybody Loves an Underdog: Learning From Linsanity. . 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. . Ed. R. Ku, M. Manalansan, and A. Mannur. New York: NYU Press (2013): 78-97.
  • The Comfort Zone: Shaping the Retro-Soul Audience. . Ed. E. Weisbard. Durham, NC: Duke University Press (2012): 201-29.
  • The Journey of Viva Tirado: A Musical Conversation within Afro-Chicano Los Angeles. , 22.4 (2010): 348-66.
  • To Live and Dine in Kogi L.A..  (Fall 2009)
  • Rapping and Repping Asian: Race, Authenticity, and the Asian American MC. . Ed. M. Nguyen, T. Tu. Durham, NC: Duke University Press (2007): 35-68.
  • These Are The Breaks: Hip-Hop and AfroAsian Cultural (Dis)Connections. . Ed. H. Raphael-Hernandez, S. Steen. New York: NYU Press (2006): 146-64.
  • Between the Notes: Finding Asian America in Popular 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)