November 2, 2009 - 4:00 PM
Eduardo Torres Cuevas
Professor of History, University of Havana
Director, José Martí National Library
President, Casa de Altos Estudios Don Fernando Ortiz
In this talk, Professor Eduardo Torres Cuevas will address issues of race, religiosity, and social stratification (marginalidad). He will discuss the changing schools of
thought regarding Cuban national identity as well as explore the connections between Cuba and the larger circum-Caribbean.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Eduardo Torres Cuevas is a distinguished Cuban intellectual whose work has focused on topics of Cuban independence, abolitionism, slavery, popular religion, freemasonry, and the formation of “cubanidad.” He is the Director of the Instituto de Altos Estudios Fernando Ortiz of the University of Havana, where he has taught for over 30 years. Since 2007 he has been the Director of the José Martí National Library, where he has undertaken important initiatives of outreach and reorganization. He has taught at universities in France and Germany, is a member of national and international professional associations, and he organized the Center for the Historical Study of Freemasonry and Patriotic Societies in Latin America. His extensive publications include works on Félix Varela, José Antonio Saco, Obispo Espada, Antonio Maceo, the history of Freemasonry in Cuba, and the history of thought in Cuba. Among his many prizes are the National Literature Prize and the National Prize in Social Sciences of Cuba.
During his stay in New York, he will give talks and presentations on Rethinking Cuban history, the National Library of Cuba: its structure and future plans, and the history of Freemasonry in Cuba. His interests include the history of Cuban thought, connections between Cuba and other countries of the Caribbean, forms of Cuban popular religiosity, slavery and abolition, and the history of Cubans in New York and Louisiana.
