Courses

Yumurí Valley in the Matanzas Province, Cuba, 1993. Cuban Photograph Collection. Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami Libraries. Yumurí Valley in the Matanzas Province, Cuba, 1993. Cuban Photograph Collection. Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami Libraries.
Yumurí Valley in the Matanzas Province, Cuba, 1993. Cuban Photograph Collection. Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami Libraries.
The Minor in Cuban Studies is largely made up of courses already offered in other departments. There are, however, several courses offered by the program, including the required gateway course. Short descriptions of those courses and other Cuba-specific core courses in other departments can be found below.

Cuban Studies Courses

CUB 201. Introduction to Cuban Studies (3 credit hours)


Required of all students in the program

Offered in the Spring. 

Course introduces students to the history, culture(s), economics, and politics of Cuba in inter- and multi-disciplinary perspective. Students gain an appreciation for the breadth and history of “Cuban Studies” as a field. 

CUB 501. Special Topics in Cuban Studies (3 credit hours)

By announcement only

Topics vary. Focus may be thematic, comparative, or pertain to a specific subfield in Cuban Studies. Course may feature visiting faculty at the University of Miami.

CUB 511. Cuban Studies Internship (1-3 credit hours)

Offered in Fall or Spring.

The internship is an opportunity to apply analytical, interpretative, and creative skills developed in coursework. Internships ordinarily take place at the Cuban Heritage Collection, where students will assist with the collection, acquisition, cataloguing, preservation, and/or interpretation of collection materials. Internships may also take place outside the university in cultural, business, or not-for-profit organizations and institutions relevant to the Cuban Studies field. Internships involve UM-faculty supervision, as well as supervised on-site experience. Students need to fill out the Internship Application Form. Normally 27 internship hours are required per credit earned. A maximum of three semester hours of internship credit may be counted toward the student's degree program. Permission of faculty member is required (the site supervisor will apply documentary evidence of the hours worked). Prerequisite: CUB 201 and one of the following courses: ARH 420, APY 311, HIS 310, HIS 353, LAW 198, MCY 333, SPA 319, SPA 361.

 

Other Core Courses

ARH 420. Cuban Art, Art History, and the Creation of the Modern Cuban Subject (3 Credit Hours)

Offered in Fall or Spring.

This seminar focuses on the fine art, visual culture, and performance history of Cuba during the 19th and 20th centuries.

APY 311. Cuba Culture, History, and Society (3 Credit Hours)

Offered in Fall.

The course focuses on characterizing and analyzing the origins of the diverse cultural practices, traditions, and imaginaries that distinguish the communities of contemporary Cuban society. This analysis is developed from a diachronic, multi-situated, and comparative perspective to generate an integral and holistic understanding of the Cuban social and cultural universe and its regional nuances. Cuba's historical and cultural links with the Caribbean and other regions of the world, migratory processes, diasporas, and other phenomena that have influenced the origins and development of the Cuban sociocultural universe will be analyzed from specific case studies. The course deconstructs stereotyped and reductionist models about Cuban and Caribbean culture and societies. It provides an understanding of contemporary Cuban from an inclusive and multivocal perspective of its history and cultural heritage.

HIS 310. Africa in Cuba/Cuba in Africa: Slave Trade to Cuban Internationalist Missions in Africa (3 Credit Hours)

Offered in Spring.

The relationship between Cuba and Africa from the period of the slave trade to the late 1990s.

HIS 353. History of Cuba (3 Credit Hours)

Offered in Spring.

The development of the Cuban nation, from the late-nineteenth century to the present. This course pays particular attention to the Revolution (leading up to and after 1959) as a contested historical process and experience. In addition to historical scholarship, students will engage a range of primary source materials, including visual art, literature, and film.

LAW 198. Cuba: Law, Policy, and Transition (2 Credit Hours)

Offered in Fall or Spring. 

MCY 333. Introduction to Cuban Music (3 Credit Hours)

By announcement only.

A survey of Cuban Music from the early European settlement to the present. Course addresses African and Caribbean influences and the amalgamation into new national styles, as well as current musical activity on the island and in expatriate communities. Prerequisite: MCY 131 or equivalent music course.

SPA 319. Cuba Through Literary and Cultural Studies in Translation (3 Credit Hours)

Offered in Fall or Spring. 

The study of Cuba through literary and cultural studies. May be repeated if topics vary. This course is taught in English and does not fulfill the CAS foreign language requirement. Maybe be repeated for credit if topics vary. Prerequisite: WRS 106 or WRS 107.

SPA 361. Cuba through Literary and Cultural Studies (3 Credit Hours)

Offered in Spring. 

This course involves travel to Cuba during Spring Break and has a program fee. The course examines first-person narratives by foreign and domestic travelers in Cuba over the course of five centuries comparing their modes of social inquiry, scientific investigation, and ways of reflecting about the island and its various realities. Students do research at the Cuban Heritage Collection and visit several sites in Miami in preparation for the trip to Cuba. Coursework, archival work, and field experience are incorporated in the final research/creative project. Prerequisite: SPA 301 or SPA 302 or SPA 303 or SPA 307.