Professor
School of History, Philosophy, and Religion
Dr. Orosco joined the OSU Faculty in fall 2001. He received his Ph.D and M.A in Philosophy from the University of California, Riverside, and his B.A in philosophy from Reed College in Portland, Oregon. His primary area of interest is in social and political philosophy, particularly democratic theory, social movements, and global justice. He teaches classes in American Philosophy and Latinx and Latin American thought, with an emphasis on Mexican culture, history, and immigration to the United States. He regularly teaches courses on utopia, dystopia, and Star Trek.
Orosco is director of the Peace Studies program and teaches about issues of peace and nonviolence. Students can receive a Peace Studies certificate through the program.
Orosco has written on the political theory of various figures, including Josiah Royce, Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Cesar Chavez. In 2008, his first book, “Cesar Chavez and the Common Sense of Nonviolence,” was published by University of New Mexico Press. His next book “Toppling the Melting Pot: Immigration and Multiculturalism in American Pragmatism” was published by Indiana University Press in 2016.
He has been a guest on National Public Radio’s “Philosophy Talk” and is a frequent speaker on issues of peace, nonviolence and the life of Cesar Chavez at venues around the country.