Seminars

Historically memoirs have not only served as sources for historians and others, but also to analyze major figures in very human terms, as well as paint the textures of the times. In recent years authors have used memoirs to explore the histories of entire communities that add new dimensions to explanations for events, conflicts, processes, and more. The recently published volume THE HOUSE ON G STREET: A CUBAN FAMILY SAGA exemplifies the way history can be told with great artistry. Individuals of all ages and generations appear as protagonists of major events and processes capturing readers in very engaging ways. Join the seminar to hear from Professor Lisandro Pérez as he describes his method of transforming the memories of individuals of multiple generations into writers of their own and Cuba’s history.

Over the past 50 years the Office of the Historian of Havana transformed the decaying colonial section of Havana. Buildings dating from the 16th century to the 2Oth were restored and block after block of Old Havana is today dotted with colonial buildings serving as restaurants, shops, artists workshops, housing, and cultural centers. The principal stimulus for this has been the Office of the Historian of Havana a source for education, training, and architectural preservation. A delegation of architects, preservationists, and other experts from the Office of the Historian of Havana, will visit Columbia to describe how they turned Old Havana into a UNESCO World Heritage site. In collaboration with The New School. Funded by the Ford Foundation. US visas pending.

Cuba emerged as a commercial entrepot in the 17th century and continued to expand throughout its colonial period dominating Caribbean trade by the 19th. century. By the mid-twentieth century it was a major exporter of agricultural products and increasingly of manufactured goods and financial services. The 1959 revolution reoriented Cuban production and trade towards the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe diminishing traditional commercial links and markets. In 2008 when Raúl Castro replaced his brother Fidel as the leader of Cuba, there were several economic reforms introduced including allowances for entrepreneurial activities. The island’s non-state sector was soon populated by family run restaurants, beauty parlors, gyms, repair shops, and clothing stores, among other enterprises. Cuba’s attitude toward the new enterprises waxed and waned and US policy at times stimulated private businesses and sometimes discouraged them. Three entrepreneurs from Cuba will analyze the chaotic history of entrepreneurship and its impact on the island’s economy. They include Lauren Fajardo, co-founder and co-owner of Dador, a local producer of clothes. Adriana Heredia, a Havana based economist who founded Beyond Roots in 2016 to offer immersive experiences in Afro-Cuban culture. Beyond Roots now employs a team of 28. Paulito Bazuk is a Cuban chef and founder of the restaurant Grados which blends Cuban culinary traditions with modern touches. This seminar is sponsored by the Center for Engagement and Advocacy in the Americas. The speakers’ visit to the US is funded by the Ford Foundation.

In the late 18th century Cuba became a prime producer of sugar and the demand for labor surged stimulating the massive importation of Africans as slave labor. By the mid-nineteenth century it was estimated that half the population of the island were descendants of Africans. This had enormous impact on Cuban culture and society. Dr. Franklin W. Knight, emeritus professor of Johns Hopkins University, and Dr. Lillian Guerra Professor of Cuban and Caribbean History at the University of Florida will explore the legacies of slavery in Cuba.