Class to Visit Cuba During Midterm Break

Truman is offering a new study abroad opportunity to learn about the history and contemporary events in Cuba.

Only 90 miles from the United States, Cuba has remained a forbidden territory for most U.S. citizens since the Revolution of 1959. Cuba is a former Spanish colony and sugar-producing slave society, and one of the last countries of Latin America to achieve independence from Spain in 1898. Between 1898 and 1959, the U.S. held an outsized influence on the island. In 1959, Cuban was the site of the hemisphere’s first successful socialist revolution. While most people in the U.S. know little about Cuba today, Cubans are acutely aware of the United States and the long-intertwined history between the two countries.

During the midterm break, March 10-18, students will have a unique opportunity to travel to Cuba to take a close look at issues of global economics, conflict and peace, race, culture, the environment and U.S. relations.

Participants will examine Cuban national priorities, such as universal education and health care; visit schools, museums, cultural and historical sites; discuss with Cubans the effects of recent changes in U.S. and Cuban relations including the longstanding U.S. embargo on Cuba; learn about Cuba’s history of sugar production and slavery; and experience the sights, sounds and tastes of old Havana, its neighborhoods, and the surrounding countryside.

An information session on this intensive international learning experience will take place at 5 p.m. Nov. 30 in McClain Hall 209.

Students can earn one credit for this study abroad experience (CUB 310). The course is open to all majors and has no prerequisites. It runs parallel to Latin American Revolutions (HIST 391), but enrollment in that class is not a requirement.

Applications and a $350 non-refundable deposit are due by Jan. 19.

For more information and an application contact Marc Becker, McClain Hall 227, 660.785.6036.