The overarching goal of this course is for students to understand ideology and lived experiences in Cuba through more than one perspective. That is, comprehending how Revolutionary Cuba emerges as a post-Castro era is not possible without a nuanced understanding of the institutions and the ways in which people use, react to, and participate in those institutions. The integration of historical and sociological imaginations will allow students to understand the complicated lives of racial and ethnic minorities in Cuba, and the delicate position of women within the revolution, through two disciplines. Our reliance upon multiple ways of knowing before travel to Cuba encourages students to view the lived experiences of people there through multiple lenses, and inspires students to probe the strengths and shortcomings of each approach.
Our collective focus is to deepen and broaden student knowledge and understanding of the past and present, and do so through the study of individual behavior, the relationships between social institutions, and the effects of those relationships on group behaviors and experiences. Course materials include primary and secondary courses, including poetry, short stories, art, ethnography, documentary films, and twentieth century correspondence of Cuban & U.S. Leaders.
Additional Course Goals Include:
1) For students to learn to think and write critically about the relationship of Cuba to the rest of the world, considering and analyzing the multiple forms of personal and national identities in Cuba, including racial formation.
2) For students to critically examine the Revolution of 1959 and the political discourses that emerge from this watershed moment.
3) For Students to build a broader understanding of state-led institutional strategies in Public Policy. (Public Health, Economics; the Arts; Sexuality)
4) For Students to explore and comprehend the multiple forms of personal and national identities in Cuba and the Cuban Diaspora.
5) For students to gain an understanding of Cuba’s approach to healthcare as it relates to state building and national identity.
6) For students to learn about the political economy of Cuba’s socialist experience and the challenges of post-Soviet era transitions in areas of economic and political reforms.
7) For students to critically assess Revolutionary discourse as it pertains to race and the Afro-Cuban experience on the island and in the Diaspora.
