EDITORS' INTRODUCTION

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Robert Eli Sanchez, Jr. and Carlos Alberto Sánchez  |  View Article  |

 

 

 

 

​​​​GUEST EDITORS' INTRODUCTION

SPECIAL ISSUE ON THE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF THE PUBLICATION

OF LA RAZA CÓSMICA

The following four papers were delivered at the conference for the 100th anniversary of the publication of Jose Vasoncelos' La raza cosmica at UC San Diego, fall 2025.

 

SERGIO A. GALLEGOS ORDORICA​  |  View Article  |            

 

 

 

 

​​​FROM LA RAZA CÓSMICA TO ASPECTS OF MEXICAN CIVILIZATION:

DISCREPANCIES OR CONTINUITIES IN VASCONCELOS’ THOUGHT

This paper argues that José Vasconcelos’s La raza cósmica (1925) and Aspects of Mexican Civilization (1926) form a unified philosophical project rather than presenting a contradictory shift in thought. Despite differing surface rhetorics of conflict versus collaboration, both texts share deep structural continuities centered on a productive, spiritual opposition between Latin and Anglo-Saxon Americas. You can read more about this analysis by visiting the original source.

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SERGIO A. GALLEGOS ORDORICA  |  View Article  |     

 

 

 

 

​​​​IMAGINED COMMUNITIES BEYOND NATIONALISM: FROM THE

FLORENTINE CODEX TO MESTIZAJE

This paper challenges Benedict Anderson’s 18th-century timeline of nationalism by tracing the pre-Columbian, 17th-century colonial, and 19th-century community concepts that shaped José Vasconcelos’s "mestizaje." By demonstrating how these historical social imaginaries sequentially influenced one another, the author argues that despite its Pan-American intent, "mestizaje" is a quasi-nationalist concept, proving that nationalism is not a wholly modern phenomenon.

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SOFÍA ORTIZ-HINOJOSA  |  View Article  | 

 

 

 

 

​​​HIJOS DE LA RAZA CÓSMICA: A CHICANO THEOLOGY AND

PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERATION

This essay examines how Chicano leaders reinterpreted José Vasconcelos’s La raza cósmica to build a liberating, inclusive theology that resisted American oppression and rejected rigid cultural, political, and philosophical dualisms.

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ALEXANDER V. STEHN  |  View Article  | 

 

 

 

 

​​HOW TO READ LA RAZA CÓSMICA

The first edition of José Vasconcelos's La raza cósmica appeared in 1925. Although the book is recognized as a classic of twentieth-century Latin American philosophy, its interpretation has been much debated. In order to achieve a better understanding of the work, five discursive levels are distinguished within the text: the struggle between the two Americas, the destiny of South America, the relations between human races and miscegenation (mestizaje), the philosophy of history, and the travel memoir.

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GUILLERMO HURTADO  |  View Article  | 

 

 

 

 

​​HISTORY AS INVENTION: EDMUNDO O’GORMAN’s PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY

This article analyzes Edmundo O'Gorman’s philosophy of history, treating his signature concept of "invention" as a transversal epistemological category that redefines both historical knowledge and America's ontological status. Additionally, it positions O'Gorman within the broader field of the philosophy of history, demonstrating how his insights on realism, historical facts, imagination, and narrative enrich both classical and contemporary historiographical debates.

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AINHOA SUÁREZ GÓMEZ AND MARIANA IMAZ  |  View Article  | 

 

 

 

 

​ZAPOTEC PHILOSOPHY: STRUCTURE AND FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

Zapotec philosophy is anchored in the absolute unity of opposing forces like light and darkness (xi-quèla) and fire and water. By studying Mesoamerican cosmogonies and Juan de Córdova’s 1578 linguistic records, this study explores the worldview of the binnigulaza (people of ancient light). It demonstrates how a third articulating element, the vital breath (pe-tào), sustains the perpetual movement of these opposites to maintain cosmic balance and make life possible. Ultimately, the essay argues that this complementary relationship between dual forces forms the foundation of Zapotec thought.

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JUAN CARLOS SÁNCHEZ-ANTONIO  |  View Article | 

 

 

 

 

​​BOOK PRÉCIS

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​ANTONIO CASO’S LA EXISTENCIA COMO ECONOMÍA, COMO

DESINTERÉS Y COMO CARIDAD (1943)

Précis of upcoming work.

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JUAN CARLOS GONZALEZ & ALEXANDER STEHN   | View Article  |   ​​

 

 

 

 

BOOK REVIEW

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REVIEW OF HOW TO BE GRATEFUL:AN AZTEC GUIDE TO THE

ART OF GRATITUDE

Translated and introduced by Frances Karttunen and Camilla Townsend

Princeton University Press, 2025

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Reviewed by JAMES MAFFIE     |  View Article  |   ​​​​​​

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