Cuba: Society, Culture and Struggle since 1898

Assessment: book review (1000 words), [25%], essay (3000 words) [75%]
This module gives students the opportunity to study key issues in the history of Latin America and the Caribbean since the late nineteenth century through a focus on one country Cuba. The module will cover themes including: imperialism and anti-imperialism; race, racism and organizing among Black Cubans; women?s activism and feminism; workers? movements, unions and revolutionary struggle; the role of the United States in Latin America and the Caribbean; the Cold War; revolutionary society and culture. The course will be broadly chronological, covering key topics including independence, the early Republic, the Revolution of 1932, the Machado and Batista dictatorships, the Revolution of 1959, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ?Special Period?, but will focus largely on themes in social and cultural history. In addition to a range of secondary sources, students will study key primary texts, including political documents, speeches and manifestos; autobiographies, testimonies and oral history; documentary and fictional film; and music. These documents will be available in translation and students of Spanish will also have access to Spanish-language texts.