Fall 2007

LAS 366 • CUBAN REVOLUTION & THE U.S.

Course Description

Students in this will investigate why the Cuban Revolution had an impact beyond its shores, essentially transforming both Inter-American and East-West relations. At the outset, students then will study the history of Cuban-U.S. relations from the so-called Spanish American War to the Great Depression. We will then analyze the populist period in Cuba that ended up in the dictatorship of General Fulgencio Batista and how an essentially middle-class rebellion forced him from power in January of 1959. Then we will take a long look at the process by which Fidel Castro consolidated political power, mobilized the popular classes for revolutionary reforms, and turned to an alliance with the Soviet Union. We will pay special attention to the revolution's influence on gender relations, social organization, and education. The students must understand the relationship between popular demands, political consolidation, and Cuba's external relations. Finally, the class will assess how the Cuban Revolution affected U.S.-Latin American relations and why Castro choose to intervene militarily in Latin America and Africa.

Texts

Inside the Cuban Revolution by Julia Sweig Che Guevara and the Cuban Revolution by Mike Gonzalez Women in Cuba: Twenty Years Later by Margaret Randall

back