José Ramirez

Adjunct Instructor

José is a Ph.D. candidate who specializes in Modern Latin American History, 19th and 20th Centuries—U.S.-Latin American Relations and Foreign Policy, The Global Cold War, Latin American Revolutions and Armed Conflict, Insurgency and Counterinsurgency, Nation and Citizenship, Peasant Politics, Social Movements, Oral History, and Memory.  Born in El Salvador, José immigrated with his family to the United States as political refugees in 1981.  Raised in New York City, José considers himself a true New Yorker who is resilient, diverse, and amicable.  José is a world traveler, having traveled extensively throughout the world, researching fashion trends as a Fashion Designer.  Throughout his travels, his exposure to cultures marginalized by the capitalist machine has led him to pursue research to understand how socio-political processes, particularly in Latin America, have impinged on the freedoms, civil rights, and human rights, of the people, and what factors can foster democratization and social development.  

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.