Summary This article focuses on the relevance of Alexander von Humboldt's correspondence in the formation of transatlantic scientific networks at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Apart from connecting Humboldt with scientists and scholars worldwide, his correspondence turned out to be a fundamental tool for assuring the material conditions and the social and scientific connections he needed to carry out his research on the Spanish colonies and to simultaneously diffuse his achievements on the European side of the Atlantic. His contact (...) with Hispanic American scientists and with the local elites enabled him to build a broad social network, gaining access to key material, human and intellectual resources. The letters sent to scientists, scientific institutions and noblemen in Europe, for their part, kept Humboldt's European correspondents informed about his activities in Hispanic America, contributing to the validation of his work before the scientific community and the fulfilment of the duties resulting from the political and institutional support he received both before and during his travels. This stresses the importance of strategic social groups and their cooperation in the framework of exploratory travels as a means to gaining access to resources in the peripheries. It also reveals the scientist's dependence on all those who supported his research: kings, barons, botanical gardens, universities, and academies. (shrink)

I present a novel position vis-à-vis the views in the Latin American philosophy literature regarding whether subjects more aptly use "Hispanic" or "Latinx" to refer to Hispanic- or-Latinx people. To this end, I will argue (C) the term "Afro-Latinx" is more apt than "Hispanic" or "Latinx" in a significant number of cases. This conclusion is based on three premises. The first premise (P1) is that use of "Afro-Latinx" provides subjects with understanding of how certain events depend on (...) anti-Black racism, US society's racially unjust structure and US colonial policy. The second premise (P2) is that that neither the term "Hispanic" nor the term "Latinx" provide subjects with this understanding of how certain events depend on anti-Black racism, US society's racially unjust structure and US colonial policy. The third premise (P3) is that the term "Afro-Latinx" provides subjects with more understanding of these events than the terms, "Hispanic" and "Latinx.” I present three cases which feature the experiences of Afro-Dominican people. The 1992 murder of Dominican man Kiko García by New York Police officer O’Keefe is first case. The second case is the Washington Heights Uprising that ensued Kiko García’ murder. An instance where a nightclub bouncer in the Dominican Republic denies a Dominican women entry because of her hair texture composes the third case. (shrink)

After presenting a brief history of philosophy in Hispanic-America since the XVI century, we discuss whether the idea of province and empire is applicable to contemporary Hispanic-American philosophy, investigate the form these ideas adopt in this region, and inquire into the ways in which provincialism i s present in philosophical work. We conclude that there are three main groups that understand their peripheral position in different ways, with different views on the way in which they should insert (...) into the mainstream of Western philosophy. (shrink)

Purpose Given the considerable challenges posed by disinformation to both society and journalism, how do news media outlets in Hispanic America and Spain address this pervasive global phenomenon? The purpose of this study is to evaluate the extent to which these outlets embrace recommendations from academic, professional and institutional spheres for countering false contents. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative content analysis was used using variables linked to transparency, verification and potential errors incurred. This study comprehensively analyses the ethical codes of (...) 34 digital native outlets spanning 12 Hispanic American countries (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela), as well as Spain. Findings The key findings reveal significant variations in adherence to the recommended guidelines. Particularly striking is the disparity between compliance with transparency and verification compared to notably higher adherence to measure aimed at rectifying errors. This exploratory study paves the way for further research on additional countries. Originality/value Ethical codes are a fundamental instrument of media accountability. Nevertheless, their utility in the fight against misinformation has barely been addressed. This study is pioneering in the field of disinformation and ethical codes within digital native media outlets in Hispanic America and Spain. (shrink)

This article argues that (C) the term “Afro-Latinx” is more apt than “Hispanic” or “Latinx” in a significant number of cases. Three premises support this conclusion. The first premise (P1) is that use of “Afro-Latinx” provides subjects with understanding of how certain events depend on anti-Black racism, US society’s racially unjust structure, and US colonial policy. The second premise (P2) is that neither the term “Hispanic” nor the term “Latinx” provides subjects with this understanding of how certain events (...) depend on anti-Black racism, US society’s racially unjust structure, and US colonial policy. The third premise (P3) is that the term “Afro-Latinx” provides subjects with more understanding of these events than the terms “Hispanic” and “Latinx.” To motivate the argument, the article presents the case of Jose “Kiko” García’s murder by the New York City police and the uprising that ensued. (shrink)

This volume presents 15 studies occasioned by the 500th anniversary of the European discovery of America. It covers both the initial encounters between the Europeans and native Americans and the golden age of Hispanic philosophy that followed the discovery - specifically between 1500 and 1650.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Hispanic Philosophy in the Age of Discovery ed. by Kevin WhiteIván JaksicKevin White, editor. Hispanic Philosophy in the Age of Discovery. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1997. Pp. xv + 326. Cloth, $59.95.The quincentennial of what has been termed the “encounter” between Europeans and Indians in the New World in the late fifteenth century furnished the occasion for much denunciation of the evils (...) inflicted by greedy intruders on the indigenous population and their environment. Many a conference was convened to reflect on such [End Page 463] events from the perspective of what appeared to be a consensus on the ultimately negative effects of European discovery, conquest, and colonization. In this context, it is quite remarkable that a conference on Hispanic philosophy in the age of discovery should have been convened to examine the philosophical figures and treatises of the era. As it turns out, this volume represents probably one of the most enduring outcomes of the myriad activities of 1992. This is a volume that ranges widely into the philosophical world of the period, brings to light the richness and significance of philosophers and their work, and provides a coherent and consistently well-researched set of essays.The volume consists of fifteen essays divided into five parts. Part I consists of one essay by Jorge J. E. Gracia which offers a wide panorama of Hispanic philosophy from 1500 to 1650, as well as a lucid interpretation of the historical reasons why Hispanic philosophy seems to have reached a dead end in the context of modern European philosophy, and suffered the neglect of intervening centuries. Part II consists of one essay by Mauricio Beuchot on discussions concerning the conquest of Mexico; two essays by John Doyle and Marcelo Sánchez-Sorondo on the work of Francisco de Vitoria; and two essays on the celebrated dispute between Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda and Bartolomé de las Casas in 1550–51, the first by Eduardo Andújar and the second by Rafael Alvira and Alfredo Cruz. Part III includes essays by William Wallace on Domingo de Soto and Galileo’s science; Juan Antonio Widow on the economic thought of the Spanish Scholastics; Jean de Groot on the mysticism of Teresa de Avila; Yves Floucat on St. John of the Cross, and Mirko Skarica on the problem of future contingents. Part IV includes three essays by Norman Wells, Stephen Menn, and Carlos G. Noreña on the works of Francisco Suárez, probably the best-known Spanish thinker of the period. The volume closes with Part V, which has a long essay by John Deely on John Poinsot’s doctrine of signs.A volume of this scope and nature is bound to contain some overlap and repetition, as is the case with the pieces concerning the Las Casas-Sepúlveda debate. And yet these essays read well because the authors seriously undermine the conventional treatment of Sepúlveda as the hawkish defender of Indian slavery, and place him in the context of a larger Renaissance view of non-European peoples. Las Casas, in the view of the authors, had a great deal more in common with his opponent than the historiography has thus far suggested. In other sections of the volume, the variety of approaches and subjects on the part of the contributors challenges the reader to constantly shift grounds. Part III, for instance, takes us from the disquisitions on the velocity of falling bodies to the moral aspects of economic thought, and to the meaning of mystical theology. Fortunately, the competence of the researchers makes all individual pieces worthwhile even if this particular reviewer would have been somewhat more stringent with the space allotted to make a point.Contributors to this book leave no doubt as to the importance of their subjects, and yet they resist the temptation of exaggerating the extent of the influence of many of the Spanish authors on other European thinkers. Indeed, the essay by Norman Wells shows that while one must consider the linkages between Suárez and Descartes, there is [End Page 464] no reason to believe that the latter made Suárez’s position on the moderni... (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Hispanic Utopian Studies and Activism as a PromptJulia Ramírez-Blanco (bio)In the last few years I have come to the Utopian Studies Societýs yearly conference as part of a smaller group, one that has its own parallel history in the left corner of the South of Europe and is networked mostly with Latin America. I am referring to the interdisciplinary research group Histopia, which has its base in (...) Madrid́s Autónoma University, is comprised of twenty-seven researchers from different institutions, and is coordinated by historian Juan Pro. As the name Histopia suggests, it was founded by historians. From the beginning there have been people from other fields, such as political science, architecture, cultural studies, and art history. The aim was always understanding utopianism beyond the study of texts, and centering research in everything that utopianism produces, such as social movements, political programs, and urban programs. In this sense, a premise was to understand utopias not as a footnote in history or a series of eccentric events, but as a guiding force that drives a [End Page 510] history. This placing of utopianism in history was clearly announced in the grouṕs website:Histopia seeks to go beyond the philological approach that predominates in Utopian Studies and to historicize the study of contemporary utopias and dystopias, showing how they respond to the contexts in which they arise, since they reflect the problems and frustrations of a society as well as the aspirations for change it contains, and the conditions of possibility that a particular cultural and emotional framework offers for developing them.1Together with this focus on history, which departs from the more text-centered traditions of an important part of utopian studies, the other main particularity of Histopia is its decentralizing of utopian studies towards the Spanish-speaking world. And to this end, the group also founded the Transatlantic Network for the Study of Utopias, which was created in 2015 to put in communication over 250 researchers, most of them from Latin America, but also from other places such as Australia or Japan.2The Spanish statés research funding programs have provided the bureaucratic framework and the material resources for the research group since 2015. Together with seminars, conferences, or workshops, the resulting publications have been linked with utopian literature, with dystopia, and with a focus on viewing history through the lens of utopia. One of the most recent endeavors has been a radically collective one, articulating a Dictionary of Utopian Places written by a multitude of authors.3 Histopia has also initiated several projects with schools, for the most part ongoing, and there have been many attempts to disseminate its work through radio and video projects. And since its founding, Histopia has tried reaching out beyond the Academy—an effort that is finally gaining success. In 2021 the international conference Intentional Communities: Concrete Utopias in History was extremely fruitful: we saw involved participation both in various interventions, and through activities such as streaming. Participants included people and organizations from social movements and from intentional communities.I want to argue here that the very formation of Histopia was a logical development from certain political triggers—and in particular, the so-called 15M Movement, a series of anti-austerity protests and direct-democracy initiatives that ignited antigovernment activism throughout Spain from 2011 on, culminating in the occupation of urban spaces (“encampments”) and in very large political assemblies. It is not just that the forces of activism were [End Page 511] reignited after 2011, and that its inheritors came together with the Histopia research group; the very existence of Histopia, I am arguing, can be read as a consequence of the 15M encampment and its aftermath.Prefigurative PracticesIn May 2011, following the example of the Arab world, Madrid’s Puerta del Sol was populated by a crowd armed with posters, slogans, and self-made banners. On the inhospitable ground of the square, anonymous persons erected an encampment so complex that it functioned as a miniature city, with spaces for preparing food, for nursery care, for rest, for legal consultation, for anti-racist and/or feminist activity. All work was voluntary, and materials were... (shrink)

in two letters concerning the Spanish-American War of 1898, Charles Sanders Peirce openly expresses some egregious prejudices against several groups of people, including Hispanics—people of at least partly Spanish origin in the Iberian Peninsula or the Americas (L 254 and L 339; reprint, translation to Spanish, and commentary in Nubiola and Zalamea 76–811). In an undated letter to his cousin Henry Cabot Lodge, a Massachusetts politician, Peirce writes regarding the war: “I don’t believe the Spaniards will make a good fight; (...) for as I have studied them in Spain, the whole people has been corrupted with the centuries of cruelty, injustice and rapine they have indulged in, and have little real manhood left” (L 254; .. (shrink)

The politics of ethnic names, such as ‘Latino’ and ‘Hispanic’, raises legitimate issues for three reasons: because non-political considerations of descriptive adequacy are insufficient to determine absolutely the question of names; political considerations may be germane to an ethnic name’s descriptive adequacy; and naming opens up the political question of a chosen furture, to which we are accountable. The history of colonial and neo-colonial conditions structuring the relations of the North, Central and South Americas is both critical in understanding (...) the political condition of Latinos in the USA and relevant in current colonial relations. (shrink)

O trabalho estuda as formas de representação do sagrado no romance hispano-americano do século XX e propõe uma reflexão sobre algumas formas de utilização das mitologias e tradições religiosas pela literatura. A presença das narrativas sagradas no texto literário do século XX surge marcada por uma renovada experiência estética, pois não se trata apenas de utilizar ou reutilizar uma temática exótica, mas, sim, perceber um potencial tradutor de verdades universais, imanentes aos textos religiosos ou mitologias ancestrais. O artigo propõe uma (...) reflexão sobre as particularidades da produção literária europeia e hispano-americana, que utilizam os temas sagrados, a fim de perceber as consonâncias e dissonâncias estéticas e históricas. O fenômeno estético denominado “mitologismo”, estudado por E.M. Mielietinski, pode ser entendido como um modus operandi da estruturação do romance que conjuga literatura e relatos sagrados e, neste estudo, fundamenta a discussão sobre a heterogeneidade cultural dos povos hispânicos expressa em suas representações literárias. Palavras-chave : Romance . Mitologias. Religião. Hispano-América.This article studies the forms of representation of the sacred in the Hispanic-American novel of the 20th century and proposes a reflection on some ways of using the mythological and religious traditions by literature. The presence of sacred narratives in the literary texts of the 20th century is marked by a renewed aesthetic experience, once it does not only refer to using or re-using an exotic theme, but perceiving a potential translator of universal truths, immanent to religious texts or mythological ancestors. The present proposal offers a reflection on the peculiarities of European and Hispanic-American productions which make use of sacred themes, meaning to understand the aesthetic and historical consonances and dissonances. The aesthetic phenomenon named “mythologism”, studied by E.M. Mielietinski, can be understood as a modus operandi of the structure of the novel that joins literature and sacred texts and, in this study, serves as a basis for the discussion on the cultural diversity of Hispanic peoples expressed in their literary representations. Keywords: Novel. Mythologies. Religion. Hispanic-America. (shrink)

__Forging People __explores the way in which Hispanic American thinkers in Latin America and Latino/a philosophers in the United States have posed and thought about questions of race, ethnicity, and nationality, and how they have interpreted the most significant racial and ethnic labels used in Hispanic America in connection with issues of rights, nationalism, power, and identity. Following the first introductory chapter, each of the essays addresses one or more influential thinkers, ranging from Bartolomé de Las (...) Casas on race and the rights of Amerindians; to Simon Bolívar's struggle with questions of how to forge a nation from disparate populations; to modern and contemporary thinkers on issues of race, unity, assimilation, and diversity. Each essay carefully and clearly presents the views of key authors in their historical and philosophical context and provides brief biographical sketches and reading lists, as aids to students and other readers. “Latin American philosophy has a long history of engagement with issues of race, ethnicity, and nationality. To date, however, there has been no volume that focused on the contributions of the major figures in the Latin American tradition, to illustrate their connections, and to illuminate the context in which much of their work occurred. This volume fills that gap and takes an important step in remedying this shortcoming in the existing philosophical literature, and also in the literature of related fields such as Latin American studies, ethnic studies, and the cross-disciplinary work of race, ethnicity, and nationality.” —_Manuel Vargas, University of San Francisco _. (shrink)

Pierre Bourdieu in Hispanic Literature and Culture is a collective reflection on the value of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu's work for the study of Spanish and Latin American literature and culture. The authors deploy Bourdieu's concepts in the study of Modernismo, avant-garde Mexico, contemporary Puerto Rican literature, Hispanism, Latin American cultural production, and more. Each essay is also a contribution to the study of the politics and economics of culture in Spain and Latin America. The book, as a (...) whole, is in dialogue with recent methodological and theoretical interventions in cultural sociology and Latin American and Iberian studies. (shrink)

Contemporary genetic and biomedical research on race and ethnicity has reignited the debate over the biological significance of these categories. This article provides an overview of the critical literature concerning the categorization of Hispanic and Hispanic populations within these research programs. More specifically, this article focuses on issues regarding: The conceptualization of Hispanic identity, issues of data collection and generalization (e.g., the use of a specific Hispanic nationality as a stand‐in for all Hispanics), the tension between (...) social and biological classifications of ethnic populations, and the social, political, and scientific implications of genetic research for Latin America. (shrink)

The author of this study has a single-minded goal--the construction of a social ethic for the Hispanic Pentecostal Church in America that both coheres with the ...

En la historia intelectual de América Latina existe una laguna respecto a la producción de las mujeres en el género de ensayo. Son los ensayos de identidad criolla, de hechura masculina, los que construyen el canon respecto a las temáticas y a las maneras de ser abordado. Los ensayos de género que las escritoras han realizado se articulan como respuesta a esta visión dominante de los procesos sociales, políticos y culturales de los países latinoamericanos. Revelan un fuerte descontento con la (...) construcción de la identidad femenina, una preocupación por la construcción de una ciudadanía plena y representan una respuesta a las demandas sociales políticas y culturales de las mujeres y otros grupos marginales. Las intelectuales debatieron, discutieron y polemizaron con las propuestas que al respecto portaban los discursos dominantes y el ensayo de género se vuelve el “arma de combate”. Lo que aquí se presenta, tiene como objetivo la recuperación de este corpus de conocimiento en la historia literaria de Cuba, Puerto Rico y República Dominicana. Una labor de arqueología literaria de temas, obras y autoras a partir del siglo XX. Se brinda, a partir del libro Mujeres ensayistas del Caribe Hispano: Hilvanando el silencio (2007) deAnna Freire Ashbaugh, Lourdes Rojas y Raquel Romeu, una visión panorámica del conjunto de ensayistas de cada país. Otras investigadoras como Catharina Vallejo, Ivette Sóñora, Carmen Dolores Hernández y Consuelo Meza Márquez ampliaran ese corpus y señalan algunos rasgos temáticos de la obra ensayística de autoras como Luisa Campuzano, Mirta Yáñez, Nara Araujo, Marta Núñez Sarmiento y Zaida Capote Cruz de Cuba; Concha Meléndez, Rosario Ferré, Norma Valle Ferrer, Nara Negrón Marreño y Silvia Álvarez Curbelo de Puerto Rico; y, de República Dominicana, Camila Henríquez Ureña, Carmita Landestoy, Carmen Durán y Rosa Inés Curiel Pichardo. (shrink)

The Marrano Spirit brings together work by major scholars who collectively pursue the reciprocal influence between Jacques Derrida and Hispanism: his reception within intellectual circles in Spain and Latin America, on the one hand, and the Hispanist or marrano inflection of Derrida's philosophical writings on the other.

Growth of the Hispanic consumer population in America is changing the marketplace landscape. Due to their considerable buying power, a better understanding of Hispanic consumer behavior has become a necessity. The marketing literature has examined issues regarding religiosity and attitude toward business in regards to consumer ethical beliefs as well as research differentiating consumers on the basis of ethnicity due to their inherently different religious principles. Therefore, the present study contributes to the existing consumer ethics literature by (...) examining the roles of religiosity and attitude toward business in determining consumer ethical beliefs. Furthermore, this study compares the relationships among religiosity, attitude toward business, and ethical beliefs at the sub-cultural level (i.e., between Hispanic and Anglo-American consumers). Survey data compare a sample of 187 predominately Catholic Hispanic consumers with a sample of 127 predominately protestant Anglo consumers. Results suggest a positive relationship between intrinsic religiousness and beliefs that questionable consumer activities are unethical. However, extrinsic religiousness does not impact consumer views as to the ethicality of consumer practices. Hispanics exhibit higher levels of extrinsic religiousness than Anglos, but no difference in terms of their intrinsic religiousness. Results also suggest that Hispanics have a more negative attitude toward business than Anglos do. Implications of these results are discussed. (shrink)

We concentrate on four questions among the many posed by this special collection of papers on Pragmatism and the Hispanic world. They are, first, what took pragmatism beyond the borders of the United States and into the Hispanic world? Next, what are the ideas of Dewey that have had the greatest impact on Hispanic culture? Third, what are the past and present obstacles that has kept the Hispanic world from using pragmatism to deal with many of (...) their educational and social problems? Finally, why does pragmatism still hold great promise and potential for the Hispanic world? (shrink)

in "whites: made in america: Advancing American Philosophers' Discourse on Race," the Reverend Thandeka claims that the terms "racism" and "white privilege" can't explain what motivated the majority of Donald Trump's voters, since most of them wouldn't identify as racist or privileged. Thandeka rejects Hillary Clinton's description of Trump supporters as "deplorable," a description that fits into a racial narrative that considers whiteness to be an issue of hatred toward blacks. Thandeka believes this narrative fails to account for the (...) shame, insecurity, and fear experienced by whites and perpetrated by "whiteness." She asks us to analyze our racial terms to help create a "new racial discourse on whiteness in... (shrink)

Risieri Frondizi was arguably the Latin American philosopher with the strongest personal ties to philosophy in North America. His relation with North American philosophers was key to his philosophical development. Frondizi won a scholarship to do advanced studies at Columbia University in New York. This chapter explores Frondizi's thought and questions whether his philosophy was consonant enough with the core philosophical insights of pragmatism to consider him part of the pragmatist family.

The aim of this paper is to describe Dewey’s reception in the Spanish-speaking countries that constitute the Hispanic world. Without any doubt, it can be said that in the past century Spain and the countries of South America have been a world apart, lagging far behind the mainstream Western world. It includes a number of names and facts about the early translation of Dewey’s works in Spain, Chile, Cuba, Mexico and Argentina in the first half of the century (...) and a brief explanation of the decline of Dewey in the second half. To a great extent, Dewey’s conception of education was immersed in the international movement of reform that started at the turn of the century and would eventually slowly but surely, renovate the structure of the educational system throughout the entire century, including that of South America. But it is equally clear that the Spanish-speaking countries have displayed a general ignorance of Dewey and, by extension, of American pragmatism during most of the century. In spite of mutual incomprehension, a deep affinity between Dewey’s pragmatism and Hispanic philosophy is suggested in this paper, anticipating that the gradual process of democratization of Spain and the Hispanic countries of South America may be in some sense related to the rediscovery of Dewey and to the application of his key ideas in education. After decades of neglect of Dewey and of his contribution, there is a strong feeling not only that his conception of things is important to understand the last century but that Dewey – along with Peirce and other American classical pragmatists – may very well prove to be a key thinker for the XXIst century also in the Hispanic world. Along this vein, the recent resurgence of pragmatism can be understood not as the latest academic fashion but the occasion to start to close the gap between the two worlds. (shrink)

SummaryBoth Iberian and Spanish American liberals in the early decades of the nineteenth century based their political stances upon a particular vision of Spanish history. This vision, nourished by the stereotypes of the so-called ‘black legend’, correspond to an extremely gloomy picture of the main events and processes that had been taking place in the Hispanic monarchy since the late fifteenth century, such as the discovery and conquest of America and the outcome of the Comunidades of Castile war. (...) This essay shows how those first Hispanic liberals, many of whom spent several years in exile, hoping to make sense of that period of uncertainty and revolutionary crisis, sought inspiration in the philosophies of history which were beginning to spread from Northern Europe regarding the decisive role of Protestantism in the origins of modernity. In endorsing such a derogatory vision of the history of their own countries, which included an evaluation of Catholicism as a retrograde factor, those liberal writers and politicians bequeathed to their descendants an interpretative framework that would prove to be very long lasting. In fact, much of the political and intellectual historiography on the Iberian world would be conditioned for a long time by a paradigm which described its past as an anomaly in the Euroamerican context, and assumed the subordinate and peripheral position of the region, portrayed as a kind of ‘interior Orient’—that is, as an aberration of Western civilisation. (shrink)

Drawing on American and Latin American philosophers such as John Dewey, Alain Locke, and José Martí, this chapter articulates a thoroughgoing pluralistic view of ethnic identity in general and of Hispanic identity in particular. The chapter argues that the best way of elucidating ethnic experiences and identities without relying on essentialist assumptions is offered by a radical pluralism that we can find in the pragmatist tradition. This radical pluralism understands ethnic identity as intrinsically heterogeneous, that is, as necessarily containing (...) inner diversity. (shrink)

An introduction is presented in which the authors discuss various articles within the issue on topics including Baroque history in Europe and Latin America, aesthetic tradition of Latin America, and Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset's aesthetic work.

A first-of-its-kind book that seriously and profoundly examines what it means philosophically to be Latino and where Latinos fit in American society. Offers a fresh perspective and clearer understanding of Latin American thought and culture, rejecting answers based on stereotypes and fear Takes an interdisciplinary approach to the philosophical, social, and political elements of Hispanic/Latino identity, touching upon anthropology, history, cultural studies and sociology, as well as philosophy Written by Jorge J. E. Gracia, one of the most influential thinkers (...) of Hispanic/Latino descent. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:The Philosophies of America Reader: From the Popol Vuh to the Present ed. by Kim Díaz and Mathew A. FoustBernardo R. Vargas (bio)The Philosophies of America Reader: From the Popol Vuh to the Present. Edited by Kim Díaz and Mathew A. Foust. New York: Bloomsbury, 2021. Pp. 480. Paperback $46.75, isbn 978-1-4742-9626-7.Philosophy in the United States continues to be among the least diverse disciplines in the (...) humanities, dominated statistically by white males, with the next largest group being white female philosophers.1 This lack of diversity affects how we define philosophy and who counts as a philosopher. As the editors of The Philosophies of America Reader, Kim Díaz and Mathew A. Foust, put it, "Just as history has fashioned and popularized distorted accounts of the 'discovery' of America, it has done the same in its presentation of American Philosophy" (p. xv). This exemplary collection of essays from across the Americas allows the readers and instructors to reimagine what we construe as philosophy and who we imagine an American philosopher to be.The editors offer diverse essays covering an impressive timeframe, ranging from the Popol Vuh, whose oral tradition from Guatemala predates Spanish colonization and was recorded in the mid-1500s, to contemporary philosophers such as Gregory Pappas. The collection excels in offering texts that typical philosophy anthologies are unlikely to include, which the editors call "unusual suspects" that have been historically marginalized, while also maintaining more familiar or "classical" figures (pp. xv–xvi). These "unusual suspects" include women, Latinx, American Indigenous, Black, and Caribbean thinkers.The Philosophies of America Reader offers various resources to enhance the student and instructor's experience. The book is structured into four themes: (1) Selfhood and Identity, (2) Knowing and Learning, (3) Aesthetics and Spirituality, and (5) Violence and Peace. The editors design these themes to fit the traditionally understood areas of philosophy of metaphysics, epistemology, and axiology. Even if the instructor's course description does not specifically target American Philosophy, these thematic categories are valuable for th ose who wish to incorporate a more diverse reading list. For example, these essays could easily apply to courses such as Critical Philosophy of Race, Introduction to Philosophy, or Introduction to Ethics. Each thematic section also features a "For Further Reading" segment, which includes selected secondary sources to broaden research or substitute texts. In addition, the editors provide a detailed [End Page 1] syllabus example, including a Course Description and Outline of the Course for a bi-weekly class, which is neatly divided into a 16-week reading schedule. They also include instructive sections such as a Note to the Teacher to aid in thinking through how to interact with the unfamiliar texts and a Note to the Student to guide their disposition and readings.Moreover, the text presents introductory essays for each thematic section. These essays provide an overview of the content and delve into the author's positionality, such as their geography, context, motivations for writing, race, ethnicity, and native tongue. The introductions are philosophically robust yet accessible to new philosophy students and are not filled with unnecessary philosophical jargon.Due to its large scope of thinkers, this text offers a vibrant opportunity to dialogue with philosophers who share or differ in their perspectives across the major thematic categories. The editors emphasize that although this is not a history of thought, the texts present lineages of progression, elaboration, and disagreement intended to guide instructors in connecting the texts with their students (p. xx). Furthermore, this allows the reader and the instructor to avoid isolating their discourse to a particular time, geography, gender, or race and ethnicity. In addition to the biographical and contextual information given in the introductions, a small yet helpful detail is a timeline of the selections that further contextualizes the readings.I wish to underscore two key clusters of essays amidst the vast array of 50 readings related to Asian-American and Mexican-American discourse for the instructor's consideration, particularly those teaching in the United States. These two large population groups deserve consideration as enrollment rates for Asian Americans and Hispanics (of whom Mexicans are the largest population... (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:330 BOOK REVIEWS is the power through which the Holy Spirit creates and nurtures the church, which is the source of all authority in the church, and which is the norm for all that the church teaches and practices. Only then will the use and abuse of power within the contemporary church be addressed in theologically sound and healthy ways. Only then will ecclesiastical divisions be healed and the (...) common mission of the church pursued with faithful commitment. Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago Chicago, Illinois KURT K. HENDEL The Church in Latin America 1492-1992. Edited by ENRIQUE DussEL. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1992. Pp. x + 501. $49.95 (cloth). This volume is the result of an exemplary effort to stimulate the study of the history of Latin American churches, to communicate the results of historical scholarship across national lines, and to bring many persons of diverse tendencies and religious backgrounds together in a unified enterprise. Cooperation at the Latin American level has been made difficult at times due to repression, internal wars, and opposition by conservative church leaders. Heroic efforts by Enrique Dussel and the Commission for the Study of Church History in Latin America brought forth an eleven-volume General History of the Church in Latin America. The present volume benefits from this magnanimous enterprise and includes many contributors to the larger series. The result is a singlevolume history of the churches, Catholic and Protestant, with many strengths and weaknesses. The editor structured the work to provide a chronological survey of the region in its first section, one which is succinct and useful for understanding the distant roots of the Catholic church. The middle section takes up regional histories and generally succeeds in conveying well the history up to the contemporary period. Including the treatment of the church in Chile, however, with that in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay does not work well. Their civic cultures and ecclesiastical histories differ greatly, especially in this century. The final part devotes itself to special topics and becomes less historical than descriptive and evaluative. Here themes such as theology of liberation, Afro-American slavery, and religious orders receive special attention. This section offers much less reliable guidance to Latin American history, in my view. BOOK REVIEWS 331 One of the distinctive marks of the collaboration has been a determined effort (although not uniformally carried out) to recount history from the underside, from the point of view of the poor and oppressed, as well as from the perspective of religious and secular elite members who are thought to make history. This is an admirable and egalitarian ideal, but much basic research from this point of view has not been done. Within this section, Moises Sandoval provides a view of Hispanic Catholicism in the United States. He manages to sustain a view from the grassroots. The chapter, one of the best in the volume, could be required reading for any student of Nor,th American history. A few chapters may be marred by revisionist frameworks. The chapter on Protestantism is one. In my view, Jean Pierre Bastian's ideo· logical simplification does not allow him to give adequate consideration to the contemporary theological iand ecclesiological convictions behind notably diverse Protestant positions. Pentecostals account for 75-90 percent of Protestants in most Latin American countries; yet much of the history of Protestant churches in Latin America, as Bastian has re· counted it, has been irrelevant for explaining Pentecostal growth. This is not a minor consideration, since,the volume lacks a sense that Pentecostal churches are major religious organizations within Latin America. Similar tendencies mar the work of some Catholic writers who are wedded to the discourse of the " historical process of liberation." Such discourse leads to extravagant characterizations, as by Jose Comblin. He writes in the chapter on the church and human rights: "New democracies are totally unstable. Development has stagnated. There is no future in sight " (pp. 452-453). Comblin, a highly regiarded theologian, not a social scientist or historian, does not account for the great expansion (more than 2,000) of human rights organizations in Latin America. Many of these groups are tied to the church and came into existence largely... (shrink)

The book will prove an invaluable source for philosophers and philosophy students, as well as for scholars from other disciplines (e.g., history, political science, sociology, diversity studies, and gender and race studies) to begin understanding the dynamic relationship in thinking between the two Americas. In addition to documenting the results of a new and thriving area of research, it can also function as a primer to direct and provoke further inquiry. -/- Its essays, from North American, Spanish, and Latin American (...) scholars, fill a void in the humanities and introduce a number of Hispanic pragmatists who have not been included in standard pragmatist texts. (shrink)

“Nietzsche’s Dionysus in Latin America ”. This essay analyzes some of Nietzsche’s readings and, in particular, his representation of Dionysus, which some Latina American lettered elites elaborated in the first quarter of the twentieth century in their quest to legitimize themselves before the expansion of positivist and utilitarian projects that caused a cultural and political deficit in Latin American societies. It is argued, on the one hand, that the recourse to the Dionysius of Nietzsche energized a modernizing movement in (...) the context of modernized societies in the processes of secularization and, on the other hand, that the critical perspective gained by recourse to the Dionysus of Nietzsche did not escape the reproduction of colonial and neocolonial narratives from discourses on “what is ours”, “latino,” “hispanic,” “catholic”, among other formulations. (shrink)

Implement the concept of political discussions in the context of Hispanic American philosophy will lead to the analysis of the concept of stupidity. What is meant by political idiocy? How is it consolidated? If philosophy pretends to display the different ways in which politics is involved in the definition of human beings and its culture, must begin by exploring the mechanisms that serves the dominant political discourse in America to guarantee the total absence of critical thinking.

This paper examines changing conceptions of honour and masculinity during the Colombian Wars of Independence in the early 19th century. It explores the position of the foreign women who accompanied British and Irish expeditions to join the war against Spanish rule, and shows how colonial, imperial and republican conceptions of masculinity were affected by the role that women played in these volunteer expeditions and in the wars in general. The paper considers women's experiences during war and peace, and examines their (...) experiences in the light of changing conceptions of masculinity at home, in the British empire and in Hispanic America in the early nineteenth century. The social mobility of the Wars of Independence shifted the ground on which these concepts rested for all groups involved. The participation of foreign women alongside male adventurers was a further ingredient in this disorientating period. (shrink)

La influencia del Al-Andalus, no solo dejó su impronta en el mundo Mediterráneo, sino que además se extendió en el urbanismo y en las formas culturales en América, con posterioridad a los acontecimientos de la Conquista. Las edificaciones en la Nueva España y en Quito (Ecuador) fueron, en parte, depositarias de los cruces e influencias de la tradición mudéjar en Hispanoamérica, como un producto de aquella continuidad territorial e histórica. En este contexto, las Órdenes Mendicantes encarnaron estos nuevos aportes a (...) través de la arquitectura religiosa. Ello brindó una fisonomía renovada a las portadas, espacios internos y techumbres de los templos y conventos, principalmente. (shrink)

In 1961, at the age of nineteen, Jorge J. E. Gracia escaped from the island of Cuba by passing himself off as a Catholic seminarian. He arrived in the United States with just a few spare belongings and his mother's diamond ring secured in a hole in one of his shoes. With a Diamond in My Shoe tells the story of Gracia's quest for identity--from his early years in Cuba and as a refugee in Miami to his formative role in (...) institutionalizing the field of Latin American philosophy in the US academy. Committed to integrating into Anglo America without forgetting his roots, Gracia reflects on his struggles and successes as an immigrant and academic, bringing a philosopher's eye to bear on his personal and professional development as a leading Latinx scholar. (shrink)

This paper examines changing conceptions of honour and masculinity during the Colombian Wars of Independence in the early 19th century. It explores the position of the foreign women who accompanied British and Irish expeditions to join the war against Spanish rule, and shows how colonial, imperial and republican conceptions of masculinity were affected by the role that women played in these volunteer expeditions and in the wars in general. The paper considers women's experiences during war and peace, and examines their (...) experiences in the light of changing conceptions of masculinity at home, in the British empire and in Hispanic America in the early nineteenth century. The social mobility of the Wars of Independence shifted the ground on which these concepts rested for all groups involved. The participation of foreign women alongside male adventurers was a further ingredient in this disorientating period. (shrink)

The present book seeks to present a comprehensive picture of one on the most important stages in Hispanic-American thought, a stage during which there were ardent discussions of the problems presented by the incorporation of Hispanic America into the new social, political, and educational currents, once political independence had been won from Spain. This period was regarded as the incorporation of Hispanic America into civilization. There followed a discussion of the problems arising from the formation (...) of a new order that was to be a worthy substitute for the repudiated colonial order. (shrink)

Cet article présente le projet de recherche international « Le monde atlantique comme laboratoire conceptuel . Fondations pour un Dictionnaire historique de la langue politique et sociale dans l'espace ibéro-américain» , qui réunit plus de 60 chercheurs en Europe et en Amérique latine. Son objectif est d'effectuer une étude comparée des concepts politiques de base tels que América/ americanos, constitución, etc. Il analyse les modes de conceptualisation et de traduction/adaptation des vocables d'une même langue d'un pays à l'autre, et les (...) différences qui apparaissent entre les deux grands blocs politico-linguistiques que sont l'Espagne et l'Amérique hispanique d'un côté et le Portugal et le Brésil, de l'autre. L'article s'achève par l'examen du terme d'opinion publique et de ses liens avec les autres concepts du projet.This paper presents the international research project "The Atlantic world as a laboratory concept . Foundations for a Historical Dictionary of language and social policy in the Ibero-American ", which brings together more than 60 researchers in Europe and Latin America. Its objective is to make a comparative study of political concepts such as basic América / americanos, constitución, etc.. It analyzes the modes of conceptualization and translation / adaptation of the words of the same language from one country to another, and differences appear between the two major political blocs that are language-Spain and Hispanic America one side and Portugal and Brazil on the other. The article concludes by examining the terms of public opinion and its relationship with other concepts of the project. (shrink)

From the end of the 18th century to 1830, Hispanic America entered the era of Atlantic revolutions. On the shores of Venezuela in the 1790s, the echoes of the French revolutions in Santo Domingo and other West Indian islands contributed to the flowering of revolts and conspiracies with new slogans. The demands for freedom for slaves and equality for mestizos were now part of a new horizon of revolutionary expectation. However, the Hispanic monarchy was still able to (...) mobilise troops in defence of the established order. From 1806 onwards, the Venezuelan Francisco de Miranda, a former general in the French Revolution, tried to coordinate the efforts of the first independence fighters, although without success. The first independence was proclaimed in Caracas in 1811 within a context of dislocation of the Hispanic monarchy following the invasion of Napoleonic troops and conflicts between the Spanish and Hispanic Americans. The patriots proclaimed civil equality by putting an end to the socio-racial categories of the Ancien Regime, whilst maintaining slavery. Only gradually did they incorporate slaves into the armies in exchange for freedom. Despite these armed liberations, the alliance with Haiti and the attempts of Simón Bolívar, independence did not coincide with the abolition of slavery that was finally proclaimed in Venezuela in 1854. (shrink)

Latin America plays an increasingly important role in the development of modern Christianity yet it has been underrepresented in current scholarship on religion and science. In this first edited volume on the subject, contributors explore the different ways that religion and science relate to each other, how developments in natural science shaped religious views from the pre-Hispanic period until the nineteenth century and the current debates over evolution and creationism. It will appeal to those researching theology, divinity, philosophy, (...) history of science and Latin American studies. (shrink)

The 'Capital of Latin America', Miami is without a doubt the most foreign of US cities. The home of a large Hispanic population and the Latin American headquarters of some 120 multinational corporations, Miami has become more than just America's playground; it's a city whose cultural diversity has given it a vibrant edge and unique sense of place. This is a stunning tribute to this colourful city and introduces readers to its history, architecture, culture, diverse peoples, beaches, (...) tourism, sports teams, and more with an extended introduction and detailed captions from a long-time resident. Showcasing everything from the beaches to the markets and the Art Deco hotels -- in areas such as Biscayne Bay, Coconut Grove, Brickell Avenue, Coral Gables, Miami Beach, and Little Havana - the book shows why this Florida city is the modern, multicultural face of the future. (shrink)

Indigenous migration from Latin America to the United States has been on the rise over the past decades. There has also been an increase in Indigenous self‐identification amongst people in the United States who previously self‐identified as Hispanic or Latina/o on census forms. Though Latin American Indigenous migration to the United States has been steadily on the rise since the 1990s, there remains a lack of resources—philosophical, political, and bureaucratic—to account for this migrant group. My goal in this (...) article is to explore in greater depth why Latin American Indigenous migration is hermeneutically marginalised. First, I argue that we problematically fail to understand settler‐state borders—particularly the Mexico‐US border—as, in part, Indigenous spaces. Second, and relatedly, I argue that our failure to understand borders as Indigenous spaces is connected to the widespread, inaccurate presumption that Indigenous peoples ‘lose their authenticity’ (and, in turn, their very Indigenous identities) upon crossing settler‐state borders. Contrary to what I describe as the dominant view of borders as de‐Indigenised or non‐Indigenous spaces, I argue in that many settler‐state borders are spaces where Indigenous peoples, including Indigenous migrants, may experience their Indigenous identities intimately, and even publicly articulate and defend them. Importantly, this does not mean that settler‐state borders do not also harm Indigenous peoples by threating Indigenous sovereignty. I end by arguing that addressing the hermeneutical marginalisation of Latin American Indigenous migration requires a rigorous reconceptualisation of borders themselves as Indigenous spaces. (shrink)

Childhood obesity is a serious problem for increasing numbers of children around the world. According to the International Obesity Task Force, 1 of 10 schoolaged children worldwide is overweight or obese, a number totaling 155 million; of these, 2-3% are obese. Prevalence is highest in the Americas and Europe, followed by the Near/Middle East, with smaller but growing numbers in the Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan regions of the world.In the United States, which provides the data for much of this report, prevalence (...) continues to rise. The most recent nationally representative data indicate that 33.6% of individuals aged 2-19 years were overweight and 17.1% were at risk for overweight in 2003-2004, compared to 28.2% and 13.9% in 1999-2000, respectively. In this age group, the prevalence of overweight or at risk for overweight was highest among Mexican Americans, followed by Non-Hispanic blacks and Non-Hispanic whites, and a higher percentage of males were overweight compared to females. (shrink)

In the second half of the 19th century, pre-Hispanic jade artifacts from Mexico—especially jade celts and votive axes—stood at the center of scholarly debates on the origins of American civilizations. The contradiction between the prevalence of carved jades, on the one hand, and the apparent absence of jade mineral deposits in the Americas, on the other, resuscitated centuries-old theories that placed the beginnings of pre-Hispanic civilizations in China. The increasing availability of Chinese and Mexican jades in the same (...) spaces of commercial exchange, collection, display, and study—following French imperialist interventions in China and Mexico in the 1860s, which resulted in the plunder of a massive number of antiquities; and in a broader context of interest in jade that brought together artifacts from the South Pacific and from Neolithic contexts in Europe—contributed material proof to these theories. The so-called “jade question” was mostly dismissed by the 20th century, but the debates surrounding jade's mineralogical identity and provenance provide insight into the kinds of epistemological configurations, material limitations, and geopolitical arrangements that bore upon the emergence of new disciplines, including mineralogy, archaeology, and prehistory, as well as the new sciences of the pre-Hispanic past. This essay explores these processes and reconstructs the dense networks of private and public institutions, scholars, collectors, dealers, and connoisseurs, that made jade artifacts from Mexico—and Central America—into a scientific, aesthetic, and commercial category. (shrink)

The philosopher Jorge J. E. Gracia engages fifteen prominent scholars on race, ethnicity, nationality, and Hispanic/Latino identity in the United States. Their discussion joins two distinct traditions: the philosophy of race begun by African Americans in the nineteenth century, and the search for an understanding of identity initiated by Latin American philosophers in the sixteenth century. Participants include Linda M. Alcoff, K. Anthony Appiah, Richard J. Bernstein, Lawrence Blum, Robert Gooding-Williams, Eduardo Mendieta, and Lucius T. Outlaw Jr., and their (...) dialogue reflects the analytic, Aristotelian, Continental, literary, Marxist, and pragmatic schools of thought. These intellectuals start with the philosophy of Hispanics/Latinos in the United States and then move to the philosophy of African Americans and Anglo Americans in the United States and the philosophy of Latin Americans in Latin America. Gracia and his interlocutors debate the nature of race and ethnicity and their relation to nationality, linguistic rights, matters of identity, and Affirmative Action, binding the concepts of race and ethnicity together in ways that open new paths of inquiry. Gracia's Familial-Historical View of ethnic and Hispanic/Latino identity operates at the center of each of these discussions, providing vivid access to the philosopher's provocative arguments while adding unique depth to issues that each of us struggles to understand. (shrink)