Luis Contreras
Doctoral Student
Doctoral Student
Biography
Luis Contreras examines platform studies, digital labor, and media technologies through a focus on activist art content creators navigating algorithmic moderation and platform governance. His research draws on fieldwork in Los Angeles, New York City, São Paulo, and Mexico City to examine how these creators build hybrid practices that merge analog skill with digital fluency, balancing platform demands with their political commitments and creative autonomy. He seeks to produce scholarship that illuminates how marginalized communities repurpose emerging tools for creative resistance, visibility, and survival under conditions of algorithmic governance.
Contreras's peer-reviewed work includes a forthcoming article in GSA: Graffiti and Street Art Scientific Journal and an in-press article in Visual Communication Quarterly, alongside public scholarship published with the Rutgers Latino Studies Research Initiative. He has presented his research at the National Communication Association, the Association of Internet Researchers, and other national and international conferences.
Contreras's work has been recognized with the 2026 Top Student Paper Award from the National Communication Association's Visual Communication Division, the 2025 Top Paper Award from the National Communication Association's Latina/o Communication Studies Division and La Raza Caucus, and the Spring 2026 Distinguished Achievement as a Teaching Assistant award from the Rutgers School of Communication and Information's Department of Journalism & Media Studies.
In addition to his research, Luis serves as Program Manager for the Rutgers Latino Studies Research Initiative.
Education
M.A., Communication Studies, California State University, Los Angeles
B.A., Communications, California State University, Los Angeles