Department of History

Professor Emeritus Carlos Cortes Launches First Novel Scouts' Honor

August 20, 2025

Dead bodies hadn’t been all that common at Boy Scout Camp Matulia. Nestled in the rugged, forested, relentlessly hilly southwestern corner of Missouri, it was an accident waiting to happen. Consider the odds. Four hundred and fifty young teenagers arriving every other Monday for a twelve-night camping session. Of course, mishaps occurred. The death of Boy Scout Harry Vincent would wreak havoc on the lives of those who tried to put the death behind them. 

Join Professor Emeritus Carlos Cortes for the launch of Scouts' Honor on Sunday, August 31, 2025, 1-3:30 PM at the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California, 3933 Mission Inn Avenue, Riverside CA.

Scouts' Honor


Dr. Cortés will be joined by esteemed professors John M. Ganim and Richard T. Rodríguez from the University of California, Riverside, for a conversation you won’t want to miss.

(And mark your calendar for a second Scouts’ Honor event at the Maloof Foundation in Rancho Cucamonga on September 20!)

Admission to both events is FREE, but an RSVP is requested: https://tinyurl.com/RSVP-ScoutsHonor

Carlos E. Cortés
Carlos E. Cortés' books include his memoir, Rose Hill: An Intermarriage before Its Time and an award-winning book of poetry, Fourth Quarter: Reflections of a Cranky Old Man. Cortés served as Cultural Consultant for the Dreamworks film, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and received the 2009 NAACP Image Award for being the Creative/Cultural Advisor for Nickelodeon’s “Dora the Explorer” and “Go, Diego, Go!.” He also travels the country performing his one-person autobiographical play, “A Conversation with Alana: One Boy’s Multicultural Rite of Passage.” Cortés was a Professor of History at UCR and one of its first two Chicano faculty from 1968 - 1994, introduced UCR's first Chicano History course in 1970, and after serving in many roles across the University pre- and post-retirement, was Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professor of History in 2019-2020.
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