The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity is a university-wide, interdisciplinary research institute whose general goal is to deepen the understanding of the causes of and solutions to racial and ethnic hierarchies. There we talked to Dr. Hiram José Irizarry Osorio, a Puerto Rican and a research associate at the Institute since the summer of 2004. He arrived to OSU in 1996 to pursue his Ph.D. in Political Science. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico (Mayagüez Campus).
Varied influences drive Hiram toward his goals; through which his current work gains a humane point of view expressed in his writings and in his actions. Many wonder, as Qué Pasa did, how he went from a B.S. in Chemical Engineering to a Ph.D. in Political Science. Although a pristine, straightforward answer escapes him, he argues that a mixture of intellectual curiosity-gluttony and a conversation with his father after his first year of college should help make sense of his decision to finish his chemical engineering degree. Nevertheless, he still opted to take his electives in political science, which allowed him to graduate with a little more than a minor in this field.
Nonetheless, his interest in political science did not appear out of the blue. Jorge Toledo, a high school history teacher, taught young Hiram a love for his native Puerto Rico by “opening [his] eyes” to Puerto Rico’s decolonization struggles (past and present). Mr. Toledo is still a good friend of Hiram’s and a successful attorney in Puerto Rico. He taught young Hiram a lesson he would pass on to others in the future when he, himself, would teach: “Los retos le dan magia a la vida” — “Challenges are what give life its magic.” It is this phrase, with its simplicity and simultaneous complexity, that explains a driving force that pushes Hiram to question and seek answers in all aspects of life.
A third significant influence was a humanities professor during his freshman semester in college: José Padilla Detrés. Prof. Padilla Detrés was an open atheist. He taught Hiram to question what most people blindly follow, which forced him to rethink his own beliefs and moral standings. Thinking back on his professor, and after years of being out on his own, Hiram continues to seriously explore spiritual concerns, leading him to constantly challenge himself to “think outside the box” of his own current beliefs. The challenges faced everyday and being open to new ideas, can give a person the strength to search for new methods to old ways of living with the ultimate goal of creating a culture that can live in harmony.
Hiram sees his role at the Kirwan Institute in terms of helping convey to the broader public a more sophisticated and progressive understanding of “race” within the United States and beyond. Helping unearth from people’s minds a degree of openness to the not-so-obvious or to what is different and to critically question the type of structure our society lives by is a main goal for Hiram. According to him, one must move beyond labels, contest stereotypes, and discuss how race is still relevant in our current lives: “To tackle and associate what affects and marginalizes certain sectors of the population one must know what race means,” he pointed out.
Ohio State students have a great opportunity to put into practice what the Kirwan Institute and Hiram hope to achieve. An example would be the issue of immigration prevailing this past year or two. The Latin@ community should not be the only one concerned about this, but it can be this community that can link others to the issue. It is important that students, faculty, and staff actively engage in current issues to keep alive to concept of democracy. People should be educated about the issues that, though seemingly affecting one particular community, in reality affect the country as a whole.
Dr. Irizarry Osorio invites students, faculty, and staff to “think and question who we are and how we got where we are. We should listen to each other and deliberate. In other words, we should practice democracy.”
It is important to define, and live, terms like race because as time changes the definition is altered causing different groups to be affected by distinct issues. The point is not to promote criticism for criticism’s sake, but to promote questioning to gain understanding, so that society can change and rise up to its challenges. This is the magic of life.
