Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosa, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, is the recipient of a New Directions Fellowship from the Mellon Foundation in support of her project “Mesoamerican Worldviews: How Indigenous Philosophies Influence Latin America.” Over the last few years, Ortiz-Hinojosa has developed a new area of specialization in Latin American philosophy. Her long-term goal is to acquire expertise in Pre-Columbian and Colonial-era indigenous Mesoamerican history and culture, for the purpose of unveiling ways in which indigenous philosophy and thought have influenced philosophy and thought in Latin America.

Ortiz-Hinojosa argues that we need research that resists damaging narratives about indigenous philosophy, Latin American thought, and Latin American identities. From her perspective, indigenous thought had significant effects on philosophy in Mesoamerica from the 1500s onward. She plans to begin her project by acquiring proficiency in the indigenous Mesoamerican language of Náhuatl in order to conduct philosophically careful readings of pre-Columbian and colonial-era texts. She also plans to gain proficiency in cultural anthropology, historical archeology, and Hispanic Studies.

The goal of her project is to expand access and attention to indigenous Mesoamerican philosophy by critically synthesizing insights from a multidisciplinary lens. She looks forward to learning from colleagues at Vassar, such as notable cultural anthropologist David Tavárez, as well as making connections at several institutions including at the Mexican Studies Institute at CUNY Lehman College, Brown University, and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). She also hopes to collaborate with other philosophers, such as Clinton Tolley and Manuel Vargas at the Mexican Philosophy Lab at UCSD, and Sebastian Purcell at SUNY-Cortland.