HIS 300: The Cuban Revolution

An exploration of the complex history of the Cuban Revolution. We will embrace a methodology that examines Cuban history from within, while also devoting attention to the significant role that Cuba and Cubans have played in the international arena, especially since 1959. While much of the scholarship on Cuba has taken a top-down approach focused on political leaders and their policies, we will use creative examination of primary sources to build our own, bottom-up analysis of the social and cultural impacts of the revolution. We will seek to develop answers to difficult questions about the nature of popular democracy and totalitarian rule, the success of the Cuban Revolution in fulfilling its stated goals, and the ways that the revolutionary project has impacted the real lives of real people.