About Javier (“Javy”) Wong Galindo
Dear Potential Student
My name is Javy Galindo. I grew up in Sunnyvale, but I eventually made my way to UCSD for school. I returned back after a twelve-year journey in San Diego and have been in the South Bay ever since. I look forward to taking you on a journey through thought-provoking ideas and life changing perspectives if you decide to enroll in one of my courses.
In my past life, I spent over a decade as an electrical engineer. But since 2010, I’ve had the privilege of teaching philosophy and humanities courses to community college students throughout the South Bay.
About Javy
I am a Bay Area educator with more than 16 years of community college teaching experience in philosophy, humanities, and religious studies. I currently serve as the lead Philosophy instructor at San Jose City College, where I perform chair-level work in curriculum development, SLO assessment, program review, and department representation in support of student success and equity. I also teach in the Humanities and Philosophy departments at De Anza College, where my courses have included Global Religious Perspectives, Comparative Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Introduction to Philosophy, Critical Thinking, Social & Political Philosophy, Popular Culture, and Creative Minds.
My teaching focuses on helping students connect big ideas to lived experience. Across courses in philosophy, religion, mythology, ethics, and culture, I invite students to explore meaning, identity, power, belonging, and the human condition through rigorous, discussion-centered learning. I often use film as a serious humanities text, helping students analyze narrative, values, and transformation in concrete and memorable ways. My pedagogy draws on Universal Design for Learning, equitable grading, accessibility-centered course design, and Regular and Substantive Interaction practices to create learning environments that are rigorous, humane, and supportive across in-person, hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous formats.
My academic work has been shaped by two graduate degrees. I completed an M.A. in Philosophy, Theology and Religion at the University of Lucerne, graduating summa cum laude. My thesis, “Epistemology & Power in Qur’anic Hermeneutics,” supervised by Dr. Peter Adamson, investigated truth, meaning, and authority within Islamic religious discourse. I also earned an M.A. in Consciousness & Transformative Studies (Humanities), with an East/West Philosophy & Religion concentration, from John F. Kennedy University. My thesis, “Thinking Beyond Boundaries,” supervised by Dr. Craig Chalquist, investigated human creativity and how it can inform personal transformation. Together, these experiences deepened my interest in how philosophy, religion, discourse, and culture shape human understanding and transformation.
More broadly, my work is guided by a simple question: how can education help people flourish—personally and in community? Whether I am teaching philosophy, world religions, mythology, or popular culture, I aim to help students build the habits of mind needed for thoughtful dialogue, critical reflection, and meaningful participation in the world they share.
Where I’ve Taught
- San Jose City College — Philosophy Faculty, Lead Instructor (2022–Present)
- De Anza College — Humanities and Philosophy Faculty (2012–Present)
- West Valley College — Philosophy Faculty (2016–2022)
- John F. Kennedy University — Graduate School of Professional Studies Faculty (2012–2016)
- Heald College — General Education Faculty (2010–2013)
- Various High School Music Programs & Drum and Bugle Corps — Music Instructor, Staff & Program Coordinator (1994-2001)
Education
- M.A., Philosophy, Theology and Religion, University of Lucerne, Switzerland, 2025
- M.A., Consciousness & Transformative Studies (Humanities), East/West Philosophy & Religion Concentration, John F. Kennedy University, 2010
- Master of Engineering, University of California, San Diego, 2003
- B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of California, San Diego, 1999
- Minor in Philosophy & Music, University of California, San Diego, 1999