Louis Mendoza is a professor of Latina/o literary and cultural studies and interim director of the School of Interdisciplinary Forensics in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. Originally from Houston, TX, Mendoza received his doctorate in English with a concentration in ethnic and Third World literatures from the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of "A Journey Around Our America: A Memoir on Cycling, Immigration, and the Latinoization of the U.S.," "Conversations Across Our America: Talking About Immigration and the Latinoization of the U.S.," and "Historia: The Literary Making of Chicana and Chicano History," as well as the editor of raúlrsalinas and the "Jail Machine: My Weapon is My Pen," and the co-editor of "Crossing Into America: The New Literature of Immigration" and "Telling Tongues: A Latino Anthology on Language Experience." He is also the director of a short film based on his research entitled, "A Journey Across Our America: Observations and Reflections on the Latinoization of the U.S." His most recent book was published by Lived Places Publishing and is entitled, (Re)Constructing Memory, Place, and Identity in 20th Century Houston: A Memoir on Family and Being Mexican American in Space City U.S.A.