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EduSol

versión On-line ISSN 1729-8091

EduSol vol.23 no.82 Guantánamo ene.-mar. 2023  Epub 23-Ene-2023

 

Essay

José Martí's emancipatory project in the education of university students

Lismay Rondón Matos1  * 
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2865-540X

1Universidad de Oriente. Santiago de Cuba. Cuba.

ABSTRACTS

The thought and work of José Martí, embodied in a project of profound humanistic sense and extraordinary breadth, give him unquestionable transcendence for our present and make him a paradigm of social and human transformation and the achievement of emancipation. Its study and use contributes to strengthen ethical and moral values in university students.

Keywords: Marti's project; Emancipation; Value formation

Introduction

Education in Cuba has been a priority from the triumph of the Revolution to the present day and has reached the entire population as a necessary and achievable goal, since its purpose is to train new generations in the scientific conception of the world, the development of skills and abilities, as well as the conscious acquisition of knowledge by the student body.

In view of the above, the Cuban educational system is constantly improving and creating conditions that allow raising the quality of the teaching-learning process, but it is still necessary to continue transforming certain conceptions and work methods of teachers.

Higher Education is no stranger to these processes of change, so new transformations aimed at its improvement have originated, so that teaching advances in line with the development of contemporary science, so they demand the training of professionals with a broad profile, which are increasingly creative, competent, cultured, supportive, patriotic and internationalist, in addition to assuming a critical and reflective thinking.

José Martí, one of the greatest American thinkers of his time, is the expression of good, of altruism and of the maximum consecration to the struggle for freedom, known and identified in the world, in all his greatness, for his immense dedication to the human cause, his total vocation of sacrifice, his extraordinary intelligence, his vast culture, his ability to organize, to gather men and his extraordinary gifts for action, all forged by an unbending creative and humanist will.

This genius of politics, literature and universal thought is a paradigm of human emancipation; he conceived knowledge, culture and values as an indissoluble unit, which is why he is an essential component in the formation of university students.

His thought and work, embodied in a project of profound humanistic sense and extraordinary breadth, give him unquestionable transcendence for our present and make him a paradigm of social and human transformation in our continent.

Development

It is an indisputable merit of José Martí, that from the independence vision he looked beyond and reflected on key elements, to obtain what he knew was indispensable, the sovereignty of our republics with a different sense and where the strength and dignity of the American man would prevail, as the bearer of the full spiritual, socio-political, economic, truly just and solidary liberation, who defends his roots, his identity and his culture with dignity and with a committed participation, so that he learns how to be sovereign, learns to be independent and practices solidarity as a guarantee of freedom.

From a Latin Americanist perspective, he observes and analyzes the development of the Hispanic American nations and reveals successes and mistakes, lights and shadows, of an emancipatory process that is incomplete and unfinished. Martí thinks of America as a project; an America freed from external subordination, hence the independence of Cuba is his supreme objective and at the same time free in its genuineness, understanding as such the collective of Hispanic American nations, affirmed in an organization based on the balance of the intrinsic elements that constitute them.

Martí investigates the phenomena of factual action and reaction and arrives at both explanatory and prescriptive conclusions, starting from the specific components of each of the countries, analyzes, explores the conditions of each reality and arrives at elements in common, on which he elaborates his knowledge of autonomous and autochthonous progress, as the basis for achieving continental emancipation.

José Martí's emancipatory project reveals principles that lead us recurrently to a reflective conviction, to seek answers that lead us on the path of truth, of the solution to the problems facing the American continent today.

The balance of the natural elements" or "autochthony of the elements"; logic that reveals itself as structuring the emancipating character of his Cuban and continental project. We are not yet American enough -sentence- every continent must have its own expression (...). There are in America perfect men in European literature; but we do not have an exclusively American literary (...) There must be a historian more worthy of Bolivar than of Washington (...). The Indians bring us a new system of life. We study what they bring us from France; but they will reveal to us what they take from nature. From those coppery faces will sprout new light. The teaching will reveal themselves to us. (Martí, 1991, t4, p 124).

For Martí, the road to higher steps on the part of our peoples should focus on the spiritual and cultural growth of that naive and ignored man in order to build and achieve an America of his own. This determines his great dialectical vision in the creation and design of a new man who conceives knowledge, culture and values as an indissoluble unity. He assumes, with lucid vision, the enriching impact on the human being of what has been created, from the position of respect towards the best traditions, not as something stopped in the past but in its direct influence on the present. In a synthetic way he pointed out: "...To remember is to remake oneself..." (Martí, 1991, t 3, p 302). Hence, the importance he gives to historical memory as an invaluable source for the cultivation of spirituality, feelings and virtues. And he understands how important it is to accustom the soul to the heroic treatment of those who have known how to live to preserve the people or die for its defense (Martí, 1991, t 12, p 207).

Therefore, the interpretations of the meaning of history have been reflected in its multiple assessments of the various societies, periods, figures and historical events, which has great repercussions for our actions, as it offers us a comprehensive view of the historical and cultural development of the peoples. Thus, in 1887, when assessing great American figures, he distinguished the significance of the study of literature for the understanding of the different phases of the history of peoples, as well as the repercussions of each shock in the history of a people in their Olympus. This tells us, his vision of history and social development from culture.

Access to the pleasure that knowledge provides is the foundation of the freedom of every human being, since it makes choice possible. . Education, based on reason, on science, on the practice of work, must nurture values, recovering the integrity of the person.

Martí gave great importance to the need for a good education, especially in the first years of life, for the general knowledge of humanity.

Martí gave great importance to the need for a good education, especially in the first years of life, for the general knowledge of humanity. To this must be added another fact: for Martí, treasuring knowledge implied the duty to use it in the service of good, on the basis of a civility that would guarantee the relations of cordiality and respect indispensable to maintain what he considered a pillar of existence, human dignity and decorum.

In the defense of the autochthonous, of the true and permanent defense of the American autochthonous culture, he warns of the need to understand what the concept of the own represents, to appreciate the problem of the Latin American identity, to know each other on the basis of mutual respect, of the recognition of the other when expressing: "The peoples who do not know each other must hurry to know each other, like those who are going to fight together. Those who show their fists to each other, like jealous brothers, who both want the same land, or the one with the small house, who envies the one with the better house, have to fit together, so that they are one, the two hands" (Martí, 1991, t6). (Martí, 1991, t6, p 15)

He captures with acute vision the cultural diversity and that summarizes in fruitful product the Latin intelligence, the Latin Mind and with singular passion he approaches the true bowels of the culture of Our America (Rodriguez, 2015), probes into its roots, assumes as his own the authentic contributed by the indigenous ancestors and vindicates the work created both in the material and spiritual order in the context of universal culture, when he expresses : "Campaigns are opened for political freedom; they should be opened with greater vigor for spiritual freedom; for the accommodation of man to the land in which he has to live"; hence he warns of the need to understand what represents the concept of the own, to appreciate the problem of Latin American identity" (Martí, 1991, t6, p 25).

Similarly, he insists on the need to deepen the study of the history of America: "The European university must yield to the American university. The history of America, of the Incas here, must be taught to the letter, even if the history of the archons of Greece is not taught. Our Greece is preferable to the Greece that is not ours. It is more necessary for us". (Martí, 1991, t6, p21)

When he stated the strategy to be followed to achieve the defense of the culture and history of the Latin American peoples, he affirmed: "Let the world become part of our republics; but the trunk must be that of our republics" (Martí, 1991, t6, p21). (Martí, 1991, t6, p20)

For Martí, who postulates as a first element that the problem of independence was not a change of forms, but a change of spirit and where he also warns that "it is urgent to say, because it is the truth, that the time has come for Spanish America to declare its second independence", it is logical to understand his precise conception about the path that politics and strategy should follow in our nations.

When he defines that in politics, the real is what is not seen and that it is the art of combining, for the growing internal welfare, the diverse or opposing factors of a country, and of saving the country from the open enmity or greedy friendship of other peoples, there are present arguments thought and exposed taking into account his vast experience and direct knowledge of the United States and the meaning of its permanent threat, making a faithful portrait of its composition and structure, as a characteristic of its political ambition, rapacious and daring.

In this he finds sufficient reasons to look, from the real independence not yet achieved, the danger of the domination of a people that looks with greed to the lesser peoples. With integrity of vision he pointed out that if two nations do not have common interests they cannot come together, because "if they come together they collide".

Regarding Marti's emancipatory project in relation to dignity, there are four fundamental features as human emancipation: the whole character of each of the children of the republic as individual morality; thinking for oneself in the gnoseological section; the habit of working with one's own hands to be autonomous; and the full exercise of oneself and respect for the full exercise of others as respect for the will of others and collective ethics. This is reflected in his oratory With all and for the good of all, when he says, "(...) or the republic is based on the whole character of each of its children, the habit of working with their hands and thinking for themselves, the full exercise of themselves and respect, as family honor, the full exercise of others; the passion, finally, for the decorum of man, or the republic is not worth a tear of our women or a single drop of blood of our braves" (Martí, 1991, t. 4, p. 270). 4, p. 270).

Martí insists on unity to be able to face the dangers facing the Latin American peoples: "The trees have to line up in a row, so that the giant of seven leagues does not pass. It is the hour of the count, and of the united march, and we have to walk in a tight square, like the silver at the roots of the Andes." (Martí, 1991, t6, p 19)

Marti's warnings are still pending today when he called to inquire about the political forces of the country he was inviting and the interests of the parties and their men, as well as insisting on the need to investigate and investigate what union they were calling us to, because otherwise it would be wrong for America to follow them.

Conclusions

It was possible to verify that with the use of José Martí's emancipatory thought for the formation of university professionals, it was possible to bring students closer to Marti's teachings, motivate their interest in the study of history, develop an active and developing teaching, strengthen values, enhance logical thinking, a high level of scientific knowledge in the classes, raise the general integral culture, develop intellectual and teaching skills, enhance research work, greater preparation in the performance of independent work, develop a critical and self-critical spirit as well as greater solidity of knowledge.

Referencias bibliográficas

Martí, J. (1991). Obras Completas (27 tomos). Editorial de Ciencias Sociales [ Links ]

Rodríguez, P.P. (2015). Nuestra América: José Martí ante la razón moderna. Americanía. Revista de Estudios Latinoamericanos, número especial. [ Links ]

Received: May 15, 2022; Accepted: September 10, 2022

* Author for correspondence: lismayrm@.cug.co.cu

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