*Note this is a living document and subject to minor changes
August 25 - Course introduction
September 1 - Broad sweep of Cuban history
September 8 - Presentations on a Cuban composer, singer, playwright, movie director, film or song
September 15 - Collective memory and the role of museums
September 22 - Cuba, colonial society and politics
September 29 - Cuba, from colony to independence without sovereignty
October 6 - Baseball's role in Cuban identity
October 13 - Neocolonialism
October 20 - The Revolution
October 27 - The Revolution - Society and Economy
November 3 - The Revolution and its Cultural Impact
November 10 - Cuba and the Special Period
November 17 - Contemporary Cuba
December 1 - Contemporary Cuba
January 5 - ¡Vamos a Cuba!
August 25 - Course introduction
September 1 - Broad sweep of Cuban history
- Weeks, "Cuba"
- Iyer, "Why We Travel"
September 8 - Presentations on a Cuban composer, singer, playwright, movie director, film or song
- Pérez, "As Cuba and the United States Reengage: The Presence of the Past"
- Larsson, "Havana's dirty truths: rubbish-strewn streets spark anger at city's failings"
September 15 - Collective memory and the role of museums
- Halbwachs, On Collective Memory [selections]
- Cabral, "Exhibiting and communicating history and society in historic house museums"
September 22 - Cuba, colonial society and politics
- Mraz, "Recasting Cuban Slavery: The Other Francisco and The Last Supper"
- Class discussion on The Other Francisco and The Last Supper [on reserve in library; watch before coming to class]
- Online versions of The Other Francisco and The Last Supper
September 29 - Cuba, from colony to independence without sovereignty
- Daniel, "Rumba"
- Dana, "The Trade in Chinese Laborers"
- Céspedes, "Freedom and Slavery"
- Martí, "Our America"
- Martí, "Guantanamera"
- Johnson, "U.S. Cartoonists Portray Cuba"
October 6 - Baseball's role in Cuban identity
- Pérez, "Between Baseball and Bullfighting: The Quest for Nationality in Cuba, 1868-1898" [pdf]
October 13 - Neocolonialism
- Moore, "Afrocubanismo and Son"
- Guillén, "Drums in My Eyes"
- Fernández Robaina, "The Brothel of the Caribbean"
- Guillén, "Sugarcane"
- Mella, "Where is Cuba Headed?"
October 20 - The Revolution
- Castro, "What Cuba's Rebels Want"
- Matthews, "The Cuban Story in the New York Times"
- Cienfuegos, "For Every Traitor Who Appears, We Will Make New Revolutionary Laws"
- Rodríguez, "Tornado"
- Castro, "This a Revolution of the Humble, by the Humble and for the Humble"
- Proclamation 3447 of the United States of America, February 3, 1962
- Class discussion on documentary film The Cold War. The Cuban Missile Crisis
October 27 - The Revolution - Society and Economy
- Fagen, "1961: The Year of Education"
- Lewis, et. al., "The Literacy Campaign"
- Milanés, "The Original Sin"
- Puebla, "Carlos Puebla Sings about the Economy"
- Rodríguez, "Silvio Rodríguez Sings of the Special Period"
- Cardenal, "The Catholic Church and the Revolution"
- Pope John Paul II, "Pope John Paul II Speaks in Cuba"
- Miller, "Havana's Jewish Community"
November 3 - The Revolution and its Cultural Impact
- Fernández Retamar, "Caliban"
- García Espinosa, "For an Imperfect Cinema"
- Daniel, "Dance and Social Change"
- Pettavino and Pye, "Revolutionary Sport"
- Cabrera Infante, ""Mea Cuba"
- Padilla, "In Hard Times"
- Portuondo Zúñiga, "The Virgin of Charity of Cobre, Cuba's Patron Saint"
- Lewis, et. al., "A Conversation on Santería and Palo Monte"
November 10 - Cuba and the Special Period
- Frank, Cuban Revelations, Part I
- Class discussion on Strawberries and Chocolate
November 17 - Contemporary Cuba
- Frank, Cuban Revelations, Parts II and III
- "Cuba For Sale," Al Jazeera English
December 1 - Contemporary Cuba
- Frank, Cuban Revelations, Part IV
January 5 - ¡Vamos a Cuba!
