Image of Professors Ozuna and Gerrity

 
We are delighted to announce that Hostos professors Ana Ozuna and Sean Gerrity have been selected as 2020 Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Community College Faculty Fellows. 
 
Ozuna, assistant professor in the Black Studies/Latin American and Caribbean Studies department, was selected for her project, “The Early History Indigenous Freedom Seekers and African Rebels in Hispaniola and Jamaica.” The work examines a critical period of early resistance and rebellion on the island of Hispaniola. Ozuna interrogates the historically specific variants that prompted indigenous and black rebels to contest European domination by asserting their autonomy and shifting power dynamics. Ozuna’s interest in the Black rebellion and resistance in the Caribbean stems from her graduate studies. In recent years she has presented at the International Charles Town Maroon Conference in Jamaica and published articles on antebellum resistance movements in Hispaniola and Jamaica. 
 
“I am looking forward to the opportunity of conducting further research to showcase this fascinating and often overlooked history of resistance,” she said. 
 
Gerrity, Assistant Professor of English, said receiving the fellowship has been one of the biggest delights and honors of his academic career. He was awarded the fellowship for his book project, “A Canada in the South: Maroons in American Literature,” in which he examines representations of refugees from slavery who self-exiled to remote places—like the woods and mountains—in U.S. literature and culture prior to the conclusion of the Civil War in 1865.
 
“I feel immense gratitude to all of the people who, over the past ten years, have believed in my project and supported it and me every step of the way,” Gerrity said. “I'm very proud to represent Hostos and CUNY as a recipient this year.” 
 
The Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty Fellowship aids the research goals of humanities and social science faculty who teach at two-year institutions, providing them with a $40,000 stipend over 18 months to support activities that advance their respective research projects. The fellowship is made possible by the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.