Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute

Tulane University

History

The Cuban & Caribbean Studies Institute, a part of Tulane’s Stone Center for Latin American Studies, and originally named the Cuban Studies Institute, evolved out of several years of sustained effort in developing relations with Cuban counterpart organizations for the purposes of academic collaboration and exchange, curricular development, cultural exchange and international development and dialogue. This organizational unit, officially established in 1997, has been responsible for the organization of a variety of lectures, performances, courses, symposia, etc. aimed at promoting a true academic and cultural exchange between Cuba and the United States. Since its origination, the Institute has also led an annual summer study session in Cuba which provides students with a rare opportunity to study and live in Havana, Cuba. The courses are generally hosted by the University of Havana, but they are supplemented with various cultural excursions including museum trips, art openings, cultural performances, etc. In addition, the Institute fosters and coordinates Cuba-related initiatives in other units of the University, such as in the Schools of Architecture, Social Work, and Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Reflecting the success of these efforts, Tulane University in recent years has had a greater presence of faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students in Cuba than any other American university. In addition, the sponsorship of Visiting Professors from the U.S. and Cuba itself that have contributed Cuban-themed course offerings throughout the years, and the flow of visiting Cuban speakers, artists, and performers who have participated in special events on campus, have in turn created a strong “Cuban” presence in the Tulane community.

In the Spring of 2002, the Institute’s name changed from the “Cuban Studies Institute” to its current name to reflect the expansion of its scope to Cuban and Caribbean Studies. The Institute’s intent is to continue developing great strength in Cuban and other Caribbean programming as these areas are enriched by Tulane’s new faculty lines and considerable student interest. As part of Tulane’s Stone Center for Latin American Studies, the Institute is affiliated with faculty throughout most schools and departments on campus and has been able to collaborate with other faculty / departments in the promotion and sponsorship of Caribbean programming.

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Upcoming Events

Rethinking State-Society Relations in Contemporary Latin America

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The emergence, crisis, and collapse of neoliberalism gave way to new types of political regimes that set themselves the task of redefining state-society relationships to promote more socially inclusive polities. The accomplishments and shortcomings of those processes need yet to be evaluated, particularly from an encompassing, historically-informed perspective that is not afraid of challenging established assumptions and mainstream understandings of Latin America to do justice to current developments. What are the continuities/ discontinuities in terms of state-society linkages that the various processes of change experienced since the return to democracy introduced in the Latin American landscape? Is Latin America moving towards a more democratic and inclusive society? What is the nature of the new patterns of state-society interaction? Have they drastically altered the legacy of populism, bureaucratic-authoritarianism, and neoliberalism?, in which specific ways? Are emerging regimes promoting new patterns of exclusion or novel forms of authoritarianism?

A group of scholars from different disciplines, country expertise drawn from Latin America, the US and Europe will meet on May 24th at Tulane University to debate empirically and theoretically informed articles that address these questions.

SCHEDULE
10:00 AM-10:15 AM – Introduction and welcoming

10:15 AM-10.45 AM – Justice and politics: the dialogic alternative by Roberto Gargarella

10:45 AM-11:15 AM – The political economy of post-neoliberal Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay development regimes by Christopher Wylde

11:15 AM-11:45 AM – The impact of taxes and social spending on inequality and poverty in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico and Peru: a synthesis of results by Nora Lustig, George Gray-Molina, Sean Higgins, Miguel Jaramillo, Wilson Jiménez, Veronica Paz, Claudiney Pereira, Carola Pessino, John Scott, and Ernesto Yañez

12:00 PM -1:30 PM – LUNCH

1:45 PM -2:15 PM – Participatory developments and democratic representation in South America by Leonardo Avritzer and Enrique Peruzzotti

2:15 PM -2:45 PM – The second wave of incorporation and territorialized politics in Argentina and Brazil by Federico M. Rossi

2:45 PM -3:15 PM – Indigenous-state relations in Ecuador and Bolivia: challenges and opportunities by Roberta Rice

3:15 PM-3:30 PM – COFFEE BREAK

3:30 PM -4:00 PM – Gender, power, and women's political inclusion in Argentina and Chile by Susan Franceschet

4:00 PM -4:30 PM – Viral politics, the post-liberal imaginary and #Yosoy132 in Mexico by Benjamín Arditi

Two-week Public Service summer program in Ecuador

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Center for Public Service: International Programs
Ecuador: Tropical Field Biology and Conservation
Chocó Rainforest, Ecuador | Tentative dates: August 9 – August 23, 2013

Application deadline: January 28, 2013
Deadline extended!

All majors are welcome to apply to spend two weeks in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. Ecuador: Tropical Field Biology and Conservation gives students the opportunity to apply the theory and knowledge they have acquired in the classroom to the real world. Students will travel with Dr. Karubian and Dr. Duraes to Ecuador for a two-week intensive field course. While on the course, students will experience first-hand the challenges and rewards of conducting field research and implementing conservation activities in tropical environments. These activities will take place within a context of community engagement based on active collaboration and interaction with Ecuadorian local residents in a variety of contexts.

For more information, click here to visit the Center for Public Service’s page on this program.

Call for Papers: Radical Caribbeans

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Read the official Call for Papers here.

We welcome papers that address any facet of the Caribbean radicalis and radical approaches to Caribbean identity, culture and social practices. Papers may focus on one country or invoke comparative strategies of any regions contained in the greater Caribbean, beyond the confines of the Caribbean sea, northeast of the Florida straits and into the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans, and south, along the Atlantic coast, past Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil. Papers may be in English, Spanish, French or Portuguese, though English is preferred.

If you are interested in participating, please send a 250 word abstract as an attachment to either of the email addresses listed below by June 15th, 2013. Include the title of your paper, your name (and the names of any co-presenters), institutional affiliation, phone number, mailing and email address. Papers for presentation should be no more than than 20 minutes and may be considered for publication. If submitting a panel for consideration, please include a top sheet with panel title, participant names and a brief abstract of the panel topic in addition to the individual paper proposals.
Notification of acceptance to the conference will be made by July 5, 2013.
For more information on the conference, location and arrangements, visit the Cuban and Caribbean Studies Institute website for updates at cuba.tulane.edu.

Submit abstracts by June 15 to:
lopez_AT_tulane.edu
icaballe_AT_tulane.edu