*Deadline Extended*

Cultural Geography & Performance in Contemporary Cuba

Information Meeting
September 2nd at 4 pm in the DSU Jefferson Room

GEOG 495 Special Topics in Geography
DANC 495 Special Topics in Dance

In this two-week course in Cuba we’ll focus on the modern geographical, political-economic, and cultural context of this island (mostly) shut off from the United States for the last 60 years, focusing especially on how this broader context is embodied in the local cultural forms of music and dance. Oftentimes we have the tendency to separate the sphere of culture (dance, music, art, literature, etc.) from its geographical and political-economic context. But this is a false separation. Indeed, what we commonly call “culture” is utterly shaped by this broader geographical and political-economic context. In Cuba this can be seen through the development of Afro-Cuban culture, religion, and music during the colonial period, and the later development of Afro-Cuban jazz and other secularized Afro-Cuban folkloric musical and dance forms.

During our two weeks in Cuba we’ll be primarily based in the 500-year-old neighborhood of Old Havana, an UNESCO World Heritage Site. From there we’ll experience Cuba and make at least one multi-day excursion to places relevant to our research and pedagogical objectives. In general we’ll maintain a fairly constant daily routine centered on a 2.5-hour morning classroom session and a 4-hour afternoon field session