ABSTRACT
Eugenio Maria de Hostos has been thought of as the John Dewey of the Spanish-speaking world. Hostos was an educator and writer who wrote more than fifty books as well as essays and treatises on social-science topics from moral development to education to the political sciences. In addition to being a central figure in education, law, politics, sociology, ethics and other fields in his native Puerto Rico, Hostos travelled extensively making similar contributions in several countries, often playing a major part in the reconstruction of their educational systems. Hostos was educated in a private school in San Juan, then attended the University of Bilbao and the Central University in Spain. Hostos was an early advocate of the education of women in the sciences and for self-government for Puerto Rico as well as an outstanding writer. His 'Critical Essay on Hamlet', originally published in Germany and translated into several languages, was considered one of the four great works on Shakespeare.
