The Political Status of Puerto Rico: Four Perspectives
Channel: NEIU Libraries
Date: 2024-01-28

Should Puerto Rico remain a territory of the United States, become a U.S. state, or become an independent country? Which of these alternatives would most benefit Puerto Ricans? And how much (or how little) will the island's political status determine its fate?

On Monday, January 22, 2024 the NEIU Libraries gathered four scholars—Jenaro Abraham, Jorge Duany, Harry Franqui-Rivera, and Ian J. Seda-Irizarry—to discuss these questions. These scholars brought diverse and sometimes differing interpretations of Puerto Rico's political status in light of the island's history. The discussion was moderated by Crystalynn Ortiz, a master’s student of History at Northeastern Illinois University and the founder and president of the NEIU History Club. A Q&A session with the audience followed the panelists' opening remarks and responses.

Dr. Jenaro Abraham is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Gonzaga University in Washington State. His research focuses primarily on social movements, contentious politics, and insurgencies in Latin America and the Caribbean; US foreign policy towards Latin America; and their historical repercussions for human security, development, and peace. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in Colombia, and currently endeavors research on Colombia and Venezuela in the context of the armed conflict that both countries endure, and on Puerto Rico as a colony under US imperial rule. In addition to his research activities, Professor Abraham currently collaborates with Boricuas Unidos en la Diáspora (BUDPR) – a national advocacy organization for Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans; and serves as the vice president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party in the Diaspora (DPIP).

Dr. Jorge Duany is Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University in Miami. He previously served as Acting Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras (UPR). He also served as Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Director of the journal "Revista de Ciencias Sociales" at UPR. He earned his Ph.D. in Latin American Studies, with a specialization in anthropology, at the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds an M.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Psychology from Columbia University. Dr. Duany has published extensively on migration, ethnicity, race, nationalism, and transnationalism in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and the United States. Dr. Duany is the author, coauthor, editor, or coeditor of twenty-two books, including "Cuba and Puerto Rico: Transdisciplinary Approaches to History, Literature, and Culture"(2023); "Puerto Rico: What Everyone Needs to Know" (2017; revised and updated edition, 2024); and "The Puerto Rican Nation on the Move: Identities on the Island and in the United States" (2002).

Dr. Harry Franqui-Rivera is an Associate Professor of History and the History Program and Global Languages Coordinator at Bloomfield College. He served as Research Associate at the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York (2012-2016). He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst; a Masters in history from Temple University in military/diplomatic history, and a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez. He proudly holds a GED from the Departamento de Instrucción Pública de Puerto Rico. Dr. Franqui-Rivera specializes in Puerto Rican, Caribbean, Latino, Latin American and Military History and focuses on the 19-20 centuries. Among other interests, he addresses the issues of nation building, national identities, citizenship, military institutions and imperial-colonial relations. His latest book, Soldiers of the Nation: Military Service and Modern Puerto Rico, was published by the University of Nebraska in 2018 and the paperback edition in 2021. His second book, Fighting on Two Fronts: The Ordeal of the Puerto Rican Soldier during the Korean War will be published by Centro Press. He published a short historical fiction novel on the experience of the “All Puerto Rican” 65th U.S. Army Infantry Regiment in Korea and produced a short documentary on the Borinqueneers with the Center for Puerto Rican Studies. He served in the US Army Reserve and National Guard for over a decade and currently serves in several academic, advocacy and policy boards such as the National Puerto Rican Agenda.

Dr. Ian J. Seda-Irizarry is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director at John Jay College, City University of New York. His teaching and research interests include Economic History, Marxist economic theory, and Puerto Rico's economic depression. Currently he is working with Argeo Quinones on a book covering the period starting with the 1970's, when the first postwar fiscal crisis hit Puerto Rico, till the present, when the island is experiencing a two-decade economic depression.