Sylvia Scahill

Hons 2011J

Hunter College-CUNY

Professor María Hernández-Ojeda

John Gates: An American Communist

There are many ways to study and narrate history. Some people see the world as a succession of wars or great leaders, some see it through cultural and social evolution, some say narrative histories are dangerous and only historical materialism is the way. There are merits to all of these methods, depending on your aims. The story I am going to tell here is of one man: John Gates, born in Manhattan in 1913. Gates was to become a soldier in the Spanish Civil War, and a prominent leader of the American Communist Party until split from the party during the 1950s. Through it all, he remained a life long advocate of workers rights until his death in 1992.

The personal story of one man can tell us the story of his era. Through Gate’s political journey,we (more…)

Hannah Ellerbeck

HONS 2011J

Final Essay

Professor Hernàndez-Ojeda

Benjamin Iceland

Personal Statement

            As a vibrant, passionate, young college graduate, Benjamin Iceland’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War interested me greatly due to our similar age and upbringing. Though he was born 86 years before I was, his life as a college student in New York City rings true to mine in many respects. We were both born and raised in New York City and went to colleges in New York City as well. As someone who prides myself in learning, I feel a relation to Benjamin Iceland as he was able to incorporate his love of the classics into the way he acted as a soldier in Spain.

            Benjamin Iceland was an intellectual but gave up his career aspirations as a teacher to learn more about the communist party in order to help fight fascism. His background in the classics is evident in the memoirs he wrote, however. He used his knowledge of philosophy and literature to (more…)

Raymi Echavarría

Final Essay

HONS 2011J

Professor Hernández-Ojeda

Personal Statement

          Some notable literature and film of American volunteers in the Spanish Civil War depict issues of race and gender as non-existent in Spain and show the war as being one that indefinitely united those on the left. Because the Republican side of the war was sustained mostly by passion, ideology, and a strong conviction that those on the Republican side were fighting for the moral good by seeking to halt the spread of fascism, it is difficult to avoid romanticizing the Republican front. The American volunteers lacked U.S. national support, military equipment, proper military training and economic rewards. Thus their desire to fight was mostly fueled by the strong ideological conviction that fascism was an evil that threatened the livelihood of the world and of future generations. While one can effortlessly sympathize with those fighting against fascism, it is important (more…)

Joshwald Martinez

HONS 2011J

Final Essay

Professor Hernández-Ojeda

Archie Brown

Personal Statement

It was quite daunting to begin writing this paper. A voice of fear told me that I had better make this perfect. Having studied the Spanish Civil War this semester, I have come to realize that the way one tells a story impacts memory in long-lasting ways. Through the device of emplotment, the historian—the storyteller—assumes the role of a narrative architect whom the reader implicitly trusts to build the tale with the foundational bricks of chronicles. I urge the reader to experience this paper through the critical lens of metahistory and challenge my choice of narrative building blocks, asking such questions as: “why only a handful of letters—why not the whole lot?” I will tell you now that I write about what interests me as a theatre lover, as a student living in a time of increasing authoritarianism in the United States and as a writer seeking his own voice. Archie Brown’s letters to his wife Esther (more…)

Haley Trunkett

HONS 2011

Hunter College-CUNY

Professor María Hernández-Ojeda

May Levine Hartzman

Personal Statement

I came across May Levine-Hartzman while searching online at the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives. Before this course, I knew nothing about the Spanish Civil War nor anyone that volunteered. I even visited Madrid for a summer and still did not know the impact that this war had and still has on modern day society. However I am very thankful for the fact that this course brought me to May Levine. Given that she was born in New York City and eventually moved to Los Angeles, I felt an instant connection but I could have never anticipated how inspirational her life experiences (more…)