Click to view A Discussion on Slavery and Freedom in Spain, Santo Domingo, and Puerto Rico
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CUNY Dominican Studies Institute

Founded in 1992 and housed at The City College of New York, the Dominican Studies Institute of the City University of New York (CUNY DSI) is the nation's first university-based research institute devoted to the study of people of Dominican descent in the United States and other parts of the world. CUNY DSI's mission is to produce and disseminate research and scholarship about Dominicans, and about the Dominican Republic. CUNY DSI is the locus for a community of scholars, including doctoral fellows, in the field of Dominican Studies and sponsors multidisciplinary research projects.

The Institute houses the Dominican Archives, the first and only of its kind outside of the Dominican Republic, is dedicated to preserving the records reflecting the experiences of Dominicans in the U.S., and the Dominican Library, the largest depository of bibliographical resources in the U.S. related to Dominican Studies. These are the first and only institutions in the United States collecting primary and secondary source material about people of Dominican descent. In 2010, the Institute opened its Archives and Library facility to art exhibitions, thus becoming the first exhibit space in New York City devoted exclusively to work by and about people of Dominican descent. The Institute organizes lectures, conferences, and exhibitions that are open to the public.

The Institute is headed by renowned sociologist and public intellectual Ramona Hernández, Ph.D., author of pioneering texts in the areas of migration, labor, and Dominican studies. She is a trustee of the Sociological Initiatives Foundation. 

Digital Resources

Here is our most prominent digital resources click here for more.

Dominican Music US Website Thumbnail

A History of Dominican Music in the U.S. is the first NEH-funded open-source digital tool narrating the history of Dominican music as it developed during the past century in the United States. By presenting multi-media resources, grounded in historical contexts and speaking to larger issues of immigration, identity, and diversity, this online platform provides a new approach to understanding Dominican music.