Press Release


HOSTOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE SET TO LAUNCH
HOSTOS175

A TRIBUTE YEAR FOR DON EUGENIO MARÍA DE HOSTOS
175TH BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH



 

It is not enough to impart knowledge, you must teach how to acquire it; it is not enough to teach constructed  knowledge, you have to teach how to construct it; it is not enough to submit yourself and to submit your teaching to a method, you have to teach how to use it.  In a word, it is not enough to teach to know; you have to teach how to reason.

—Eugenio María de Hostos
 Forjando el porvenir americano-II, O.C. (1939), 52
 

Wednesday, February 26, 2014 (Bronx, NY) - This year marks the 175th anniversary of the birth of the man for whom Hostos Community College was named. Born in Puerto Rico on January 11, 1839, Eugenio María de Hostos excelled in many fields, including literature, sociology, education, jurisprudence, and philosophy.

With Hostos175 the College will commemorate the life and work of Eugenio María de Hostos by hosting lectures; workshops for students and faculty centered on curriculum integration; conferences; and civic and cultural holdings with distinguished leaders, scholars and artists beginning in March and through the end of 2014.

The intention of Hostos175 is to highlight the work of this illustrious educator, who was committed to the social, political, and the cultural development of society with the goal of justice and equality for all; to reflect on the richness and diversity of Hostos’ own intellectual and ethical pursuits; and bring to light his many significant contributions to Latin America, the Hispanic Caribbean, and Latinos and Latinas in the United States and throughout the world.

President of Hostos Community College Félix V. Matos Rodríguez notes, “The real possibility of creating stable republics, with citizens who were ready to incorporate the most innovative ideas of the time for the benefit of industry, good governance, and the arts, was the goal that inspired Hostos’ educational theories.”

Some Hostos175 highlights are:

March 19, 2014 / Inaugural Lecture: Dr. April Mayes, “Hostos (and the Woman Question) in Santo Domingo: A Consideration of Gender and Nation Building in Hostosian Thought and Practice.”
As the leadoff event for the 175th Anniversary Celebration of the birth of Eugenio María de Hostos, Hostos Community College is pleased to announce our inaugural lecture by Dr. April Mayes of Pomona College. Dr. Mayes, Associate Professor of Latin American and Caribbean History, Dean of Women at Pomona College, and author of the forthcoming book The Mulatto Republic: Class, Race, and Dominican National Identity (University Press of Florida, 2014), will deliver a lecture titled “Hostos (and the Woman Question) in Santo Domingo: A Consideration of Gender and Nation Building in Hostosian Thought and Practice.” The presentation, in recognition of Women's History Month, describes Hostos's influence on women's education and on the development of a generation of normalistas who applied Hostosian pedagogy in their female-run schools and Hostosian thought in their social reform activism. The lecture will then detail how Hostosian thought, while not necessarily feminist, influenced Dominican feminism in its early, inchoate years. Finally, Dr. Mayes explores why Hostos addressed the "woman question" in the first place and what significance women had in his thinking about civil society, the state, and the nation.

We look forward to seeing you on March 19 for our first event in a year-long series dedicated to our college’s namesake.

For further information please contact Professor Orlando Hernández at ohernandez@hostos.cuny.edu or Professor Ernest Ialongo at eialongo@hostos.cuny.edu.

Time: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Place: Savoy Multipurpose Room

March 28, 2014 / Open Forum / Hostos: The Man, The College, The Bronx
Presented by Professor Emeritus Gerald Meyer, Hostos Archivist William Casari, and Hostos
scholar Professor Orlando J. Hernández. Coordinated by Professor William Casari and sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning. Professor Emeritus Gerald Meyer will discuss the history of Hostos Community College; Archivist William Casari will examine the College’s connection to the Bronx; and Hostos scholar Professor Orlando J. Hernándezill discuss Hostos’ accomplishments as an activist and author.

Time: 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Place: C-391

April 3, 2014 / A Revolt Through Letters: Clemente Soto Velez 
Director /Director: Joelle Gonzalez-Laguer, class of 1996 Documentary focusing on the life and accomplishments of an extraordinary Puerto Rican poet, journalist, nationalist and community activist both in his native Puerto Rico and in New York City. Using archival footage of Soto Velez and interviews with personal friends, colleagues, Nuyorican poets and Clemente’s granddaughter Anita, the filmmaker explores the life of this unique individual. Gonzalez-Laguer explores Clemente’s contributions to literacy, cultural identity, political activism, and his unwavering support for the arts. The soundtrack features a live concert by Roy Brown.

Time: 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Place: Vito Marcantonio Room, Lobby, B-Building. 

April 10, 2014 / Dramatic Reading Competition/ Hostos Literary Works
Readings from Hostos’ literary works as part of the English Club’s Dramatic Reading Competition and performed by Hostos students.  The event is coordinated by Professors Maya Sharma and Christine Hutchins.

Time: 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Place: Savoy Multipurpose Room

April 28, 2014 / Lecture & Workshop / Hostos Legacy / Teaching Hostos at Hostos
Presented by Hostos scholar Professor Roberto Mori, University of Puerto Rico retiree.

November 2014 / Young Hostos / Hostos Repertory Company Fall Production
Written by Michael Torres and directed by Hostos student Abe Rasheed. Young Hostos is a play based on Hostos’ early life and writings. Produced by Professor Ángel Morales, Artistic Director of the Hostos Repertory Company.

November 2014 / Hostos175 International Scholarly Symposium
The Hostos175 International scholarly symposium will outreach to bring together scholars to read and present alternative interpretations of Hostos’s work. It will explore such topics as Hostos and race, gender, religion, history, freemasonry, education, philosophy, inter-american relations, transatlantic exchanges, democracy, and civil society.

The proceedings will appear in the College’s academic publication The Hostos Review/ Revista Hostosiana.

Proposals for presentations (250 words maximum) are welcome and should be submitted with a CV to Professor Ernest Ialongo at eialongo@hostos.cuny.edu by May 1, 2014.

The events catalogue for Hostos175 will continue to unfold and be announced through the year and all events are open to the public.

Visit: http://www.hostos.cuny.edu/hostos175

Hashtag: #hostos175

About Eugenio María de Hostos
Born in Puerto Rico, Eugenio María de Hostos (1839-1903) was a 19th-century humanist, revolutionary, and author who traveled extensively and spent most of his life in exile. He made major contributions to education in the Dominican Republic and Chile. He was also an exemplary figure for the New World societies: an activist who fought for human and national rights at a time when these were hardly acknowledged as fundamental values; a committed abolitionist; and a staunch advocate for the recognition and enfranchisement of marginalized groups: women, Chinese, Native Americans, mestizos, and peoples of African ancestry. All of this made him a champion for inclusiveness and one of the most powerful voices for diversity in the Hispanic world.

Hostos’ views on education are worthy of note for their visionary character. His pedagogy was student-centered and based on scientific and rational methods of teaching that included observation, experiential learning, reasoning, and critical thinking. It brought to teaching the motivational theory of learning as well as an awareness of the relevance of context.

Hostos was an early promoter of offering scientific education to women, while in Chile in 1873.

In the Dominican Republic, in the 1880s, he founded teacher schools for men, and with Dominican poet Salomé Ureña, he opened a normal school for women. He also supported the establishment of kindergartens and created evening schools for workers in that country. As Dr. Félix Matos Rodríguez, president of the Hostos Community College, points out, “His educational legacy in the Dominican Republic earned him the affection and respect of generations of Dominicans that has endured to this day.”

Hostos also worked tirelessly for the independence of Cuba and his native Puerto Rico. He was in favor of Latin American unity and supported the creation of an Antillean confederation of independent states. For his important contributions to Latin America and Caribbean countries Hostos was conferred the title “eminent Citizen of America” at the 8th Pan American Conference in Lima, Perú, in 1938.

About Hostos Community College
Eugenio María de Hostos Community College is an educational agent for change that has been transforming and improving the quality of life in the South Bronx and neighboring communities since 1968. It serves as a gateway to intellectual growth and socioeconomic mobility, as well as a point of departure for lifelong learning, success in professional careers, and transfer to advanced higher education programs. The College’s unique "Student Success Coaching Unit" provides students with individualized guidance and exemplifies its emphasis on student support services.

Hostos offers 29 associate degree programs and five certificate programs that facilitate easy transfer to CUNY’s four-year colleges or baccalaureate studies at other institutions. The College has an award-winning Division of Continuing Education & Workforce Development that offers professional development courses and certificate-bearing workforce training programs. Hostos is part of The City University of New York (CUNY), the nation’s leading urban public university, which serves more than 480,000 students at 24 colleges.