José Sentmanat
Associate Professor, Philosophy
Norco College School of Communication, Humanities & Languages
Upon completion of his military service after graduating high school, José earned
his B.A. in philosophy from Florida International University in Miami, Florida, in
1991. He then completed an M.A. degree, also in philosophy, from the University of
California at Riverside in 1993. After graduate school, he and his wife moved to Madison,
Wisconsin. While his wife completed her law degree, José worked as a union organizer
for the Teaching Assistants’ Association, AFT Local 3220, from 1998 to 2001. He also
served as an alderperson on the Madison City Council from 1999 to 2001. In the fall
of 2001, José enrolled in the University of Wisconsin Law School, graduating with
his J.D. in 2004. As a lawyer in Wisconsin he served as an Assistant State Public
Defender, after which he worked in local government in Dane County, Wisconsin, from
2007‐2009, where he helped implement much‐needed reforms in the county criminal justice
system.
While finding his work in the legal field and in politics interesting and rewarding,
José’s true passions have always been philosophy, and teaching philosophy at the college
level. So in 2010, after he and his wife moved back to California, José went to work
as a part‐time faculty member in the Riverside Community College District, eventually
teaching philosophy courses at all three colleges in the district, including Norco
College. He is very excited to now be teaching at Norco College as a full‐time faculty
member. José’s interests (besides philosophy) include poetry, reading good books (his
favorite authors include the Brontës, Jane Austen, Margaret Atwood, Kurt Vonnegut,
Albert Camus, and George Orwell, to name only a few), backyard astronomy, classical
music, watching French New Wave movies, jogging, hiking, traveling, and watching soccer—lots
of soccer. Most of all, he strives to live the examined life, although with varying
degrees of success.
To view the Philosophy program page, click here.