Courses | CASA

COURSE OVERVIEW

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All students are required to enroll in 4 courses, choosing from a combination of CASA Courses and coursework at the University of Havana.

CASA Courses

(60 contact hours / 4 semester hours)

CASA Courses are taught at the CASA Cuba Study Center (la Galería) by distinguished Cuban scholars vía Casa de las Américas and faculty from the University of Havana. Depending on interest and availability, local Cuban students are also invited to participate in CASA Courses. Throughout the semester, students have access to an onsite digital course platform where they can access course content and materials for all CASA Courses. Access to the website will be given prior to the start of the semester so that students can start reading and preparing for their courses in Cuba.

Examples of the courses commonly taught at the CASA Center can be found below. The courses offered at CASA are specifically designed for international students with little or no knowledge of Cuba, include site visits and invited experts that will engage with students. The format of theses classes is more akin to the US/international seminar style with debates, presentations etc.

CASA Courses

Elements of Spanish grammar and writing and style

Professor: M.Sc. Tania Sevillano Hernández

2011- Master in Didactics of Spanish and Literature, at the “Enrique José Varona” University of Pedagogical Sciences. Thesis: Workshop system for the development of oral communication in first-year students of the Spanish-Literature degree. Professor of the Department of Linguistic Studies of the University of the Arts, ISA Taught: Linguistic Studies, Theaterology and Dramaturgy profile, Faculty: Theater Art Writing and composition, Ballet profile, Faculty: Dance Art.
e-mail: sofisaul3@gmail.com

Articles
2023: Analysis of language from the process of aestheticization of the arts in language classes. In: XXI Scientific Conference on Art and Culture 2023, III Symposium “Thought and humanities in the Arts”.

2022: The construction of professional pedagogical discourse. In the book “Manual to analyze and construct professional pedagogical discourses.” Compilation made by Alicia Toledo Costa and Oriniel Martinez Ibarra. The book with ISBN 9789974949683, Montevideo, Uruguay.

Course Description
The course seeks to consolidate previously acquired knowledge of the language by students. Does not offer credit. It provides tools and exercises that will be useful for reading skills, discussions, presentations, research activities and the preparation of academic essays, as well as for the daily use of the Spanish language. The course helps the student in his linguistic and sociocultural immersion in Cuba.

Cuban Image

Professor Lic. Víctor Fowler Calzada

Poet, essayist, critic, narrator. He received the National Award for Criticism 1998, with his book "The curse". He is a frequent commentator on race relations in Cuba in national and international media. Her research interests cover the history of Cuban literature, as well as its reflections on the problems of gender, race and sexual identity. He has won several national awards as a poet. He is currently working on a volume of essays on some projects of social transformation in the country from the end of the 19th century to the present. Member of the Cuban Association of Cinematographic Art.

e-mail: oppianos@gmail.com

Articles
Discriminations: Terms to discuss and tools for action
http://www.lajiribilla.cu/articulo/discriminaciones-terminos-para-discutir-y-herramientas-para-la-accion

An exercise in auto-ethnography.
http://www.lajiribilla.cu/articulo/un-ejercicio-de-auto-etnografia

Course Description
This course examines the way in which Cuban cinema has shown the history of the Island, its society and its culture. Although the cinema is the main vehicle for the transmission of content that will be analyzed during the meetings, support will also be sought in the literature of the various periods, the plastic arts or music.

U.S.-Cuban Relations: A Debate

Professor Dr. Rafael Hernández Rodríguez. Political scientist, researcher, writer. He directs the journal of social sciences and cultural studies Temas. He has been a professor at the University of Havana and the Higher Institute of International Relations; Researcher at the Center for American Studies and at the Juan Marinello Institute. He has taught as visiting professor at Harvard, Columbia, the University of Texas, the University of Puerto Rico; CIDE and ITAM in Mexico, Renmin University in China; and served as a visiting scholar at the Wilson Center (Washington DC) and the Institute of Developing Economies (Tokyo). He has published on Cuban and US politics, inter-American relations, international security, migration, Cuban culture, civil society.
e-mail: rafaelmhdez@yahoo.com

Articles
"Conflict resolution" between the United States and Cuba: clarifications, premises and precautions.
In: Ritter A.R.M., Kirk J.M. (eds) Cuba in the International System. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24250-4_12

The story of the future. On the 5 and odd lessons of Obama before the Cuban civil society.
https://www.cries.org/?p=3271

Cuba. For a socialism without fear.
https://www.elviejotopo.com/topoexpress/cuba-socialismo-sin-miedo-i/

Course Description
This seminar examines the complexities of the US-Cuba conflict, a case study at the crossroads of North-South and East-West tensions, focusing on its most recent developments from the Cold War to the present, on domestic and multilateral interactions , nationals. international interests and actors, as well as points of convergence and confrontation at the bilateral, regional and extra-hemispheric level. This conflict is explored as an intermestic relationship, considering the roles that both countries play in each other's internal affairs. The seminar will emphasize the case of Cuba-United States relations as a paradigm for understanding nationalism and imperialism, the limits of US power, and the dynamics of Third World revolutions. It focuses in depth on the main themes that have shaped current relations between the United States and Cuba, their different political values and national interests, ideological and cultural representations, and their current meanings; but also their “ties of singular intimacy”, cultural affinities, mutual images and civic cultures. This special relationship offers a case study to discuss how a conflict matrix also involves real and potential instances of cooperation, where creative politics can flourish and develop the current process of normalization, with all its complexities and perspectives.

Salud y Sociedad en tiempos de COVID-19 en Cuba.

Professor: Dr. Enrique Beldarrain Chaple Medical specialist in Epidemiology. Doctor of Health Sciences. Full Professor of the Medical University of Havana, Senior Researcher. Research Coordinator of the National Information Center for Medical Sciences. Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba. He has published 5 books and 72 scientific articles.
e-mail: ebch@infomed.sld.cu

Articles
First historical epidemiological approach to COVID-19 in Cuba. Annals of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba; Vol. 10, No. 2 (2020): special COVID-19.
http://www.revistaccuba.cu/index.php/revacc/article/view/862/867
The COVID-19 pandemic, case studies: Australia, New Zealand and Cuba
http://www.revhabanera.sld.cu/index.php/rhab/article/view/3567

Course Description
The course takes an initial historical tour of Cuban medicine and the development of health institutions and their relationship with society at each historical moment, reaching the present day where it analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba, the multidisciplinary response designed to face it, the role of science in that response, biotechnology, social behavior and the influence of the disease in all aspects of contemporary life.

Identity, culture and nation in Cuba. History and challenges.

Professor Yoel Cordovi holds a Ph.D. in History and Pedagogical Sciences. He is the President of the Institute of History of Cuba. He published 8 books and 27 articles.

email: ycordovi1971@gmail.com

Published articles:

“Pedagogy, school and society in Cuba, 1899-1920”, in Rábida. No. 26, Provincial Council of Huelva, Spain, 2007. (ISSN: 1130-5088)

Digital site:
http://www.red-redial.net/pt/revista-rabida-31-2007-0-26.html

“School discipline from pedagogical thought in Cuba, 1793-1898: methodological considerations”, in Projeto História, vol. 39, Brazil, 2009. (ISSN: 0102-4442).

Digital site:
http://revistas.pucsp.br/index.php/revph/issue/view/402/showToc

“The “autonomous discipline” from the psychology of learning of Alfredo Miguel Aguayo”, in Cuadernos Chilenos de Historia de la Educación, year 4, no. December 6, 2016, ISSN 0719-3483. (pp. 60-82).
Digital Site: www.historiadelaeducacion.cl

Course description:

The course introduces some of the most important topics to understand Cuba’s history, articulating the complex evolution of identity processes in the country. Students will discuss essential aspects explaining the complexities of Cuban society, in its economic, political, social and cultural areas- in their respective historical contexts up to the present day. Emphasis will be on the Cuban Revolution of 1959 with a starting point in the relationship nation-patria-identity-culture. The course makes use of literature and audiovisual materials, as well as guided visits to museums and historical sites of interest linked to the topics that will be taught. The course will promote the exchange and understanding of the foundational elements of “what is Cuban”, as an unfinished reality in constant transformation, in its current form and also as a challenge for the future.

University of Havana Courses

(32, 48, and 60 contact hours / 2, 3, and 4 semester hours)

Students have the opportunity to enroll in up to two courses at the University of Havana (UH) as part of their 4-course program requirement, and are encouraged to take at least one of their courses at the UH to enhance cultural and social immersion into Cuban society.

The University of Havana is designed for Cuban students who are enrolled in a four year program with pre-determined courses where each cohort takes most of their classes together without many choices. There is little online/advance information of courses available. Examples of courses typically offered and taken by international students you can find below. Some courses require previous knowledge or completion of other courses and therefore are not available to visiting students. No pre-registration is necessary. International students will have a two week “shopping period” where they can visit classes of their choice. If you have interest in any specific subject or course, please let the CASA Director know in advance.

Course Credit

UH Courses can vary in length from 32 to 64 contact hours, and the equivalency is as follows:

32 contact hours = 2 semester hours
48 contact hours = 3 semester hours
64 contact hours = 4 semester hours

Final credit transfer determinations are made by CASA home institutions for their respective students.

The 32 and 48 contact hours courses can be supplemented through additional work at the request by the student to the professor resulting in one more semester hour, if needed. Example: a 32 contact / 2 semester hours course can be supplemented by additional academic work to a 48 contact / 3 semester hours etc.

Schools/Facultades

Traditionally, international students take most of their classes at two different schools (Facultades) within the university: Artes y Letras where literature, art history, linguistics and some cinema courses are being offered; as well as Facultad de Filosofia e Historia, the school where history, philosophy, sociology, and social work are taught. Beyond these two schools students may now also take courses at other departments, such as psychology, law, geography etc. but should inform the program director about their interests.

Syllabi

The Cuban education system does not frequently provide students with an extensive syllabus the way that US institutions do. Keep in mind that in order to grant departmental credit for a course, some home university departments may request course syllabi. A short general description of the courses offered at UH can be granted upon request. It is recommended that students keep a log of lecture topics, required readings, class notes, assignments, and final papers to provide to their home university department upon returning from Havana.