CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

The following is a list of some of the Institute's research projects in progress:

International Media Coverage of the Dominican Republic

Co-authors: Journalist Sully Saneaux and Dr. Ramona Hernández

This book-length manuscript investigates global media coverage of three events in the Dominican Republic during the early 1960s that had a tremendous impact on the course of Dominican history: the assassination of Generalíssimo Rafael Trujillo in 1961; the coup d'etat against President Juan Bosch in 1963; and, the invasion of the Dominican Republic by the United States military in 1965.  A number of researchers with varying language skills are contributing to this project.

The newspapers sources in this investigation include: The New York Times (USA), El Diario/La Prensa (USA), El Mundo (Puerto Rico), La Revolución (Cuba), El Universal (Venezuela), El Excelsior (Mexico), El Mercurio (Chile),  La Nación (Argentina), Le Monde (France), El Corriere Della Sera (Italy), The Times (United Kingdom), ABC (Spain), The People's Daily (China), Pravda (USSR).

Update to Socioeconomic Profile of Dominicans, 2007

Dr. Ramona Hernández is currently working with Dr. Francisco Rivera-Batiz, Professor of Economics and Education at Teacher's College, Columbia University, to produce the most updated statistical study on Dominicans in New York City and the United States. The findings of their research are based on various institutional sources, including the decennial U.S. Census, CPS and the American Community Survey.

An Introduction to Dominican History for Young Readers  

Researcher: Anthony Stevens-Acevedo, Assistant Director CUNY Dominican Studies Institute at The City College.  

Anthony Stevens-Acevedo is working on an ambitious project to generate a manual of Dominican history for young readers that will provide an overview of the five hundred years of history of the Dominican people from pre-Columbian times to our very present day. An emphasis will be placed on language appropriateness, conceptual structure and clarity, analytical charts, use of historical document abstracts, didactic maps, and images of historic value. Attention will be given to social constituencies and topics traditionally overlooked in historical narratives about Dominicans, like the presence and impact of slavery, the incidence of social groups, the multiplicity of ethnic heritages, and the role of migrations in Dominican society.

A particular contribution of this manual will be the incorporation of the history of the Dominican diaspora as a fundamental force in the shaping of Dominican contemporary society in the last five decades. Units and lessons will be supplemented by study assignments guided by analytical questions aimed at encouraging a critical reading of the historical narrative provided in the book itself. The many issues in Dominican history still to be researched and clarified will also be highlighted.  Ultimately, the goal of this book will be to provide young readers with the tools necessary to understand how the Dominican people and society have been shaped by five hundred years of history.

A volume format as well as a Web-based component are envisioned for this material.