Cuba at a Crossroads

An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Contemporary Cuba

SUNY Geneseo: April 20–21, 2017

With Keynote Address by Rafael Hernández & Film Screening with Filmmaker Amy Serrano

As well as invited presentations by scholars Elise Andaya, Nadine Fernandez, Marc Perry, and Esther Whitfield 

The SUNY Geneseo Consortium on Latin American Studies (GCLAS) will be hosting Cuba at a Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Contemporary Cuba, a SUNY Conversation in the Disciplines, on April 20–22, 2017 in Geneseo, NY, just thirty minutes from Rochester.

Since the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba in 2015, the academic world has a reinvigorated interest in Cuban studies across the disciplines. Scholars and policymakers also expect the 54-year-old trade embargo on Cuba to be lifted in the near future, further impacting the Cuban state and its people. Simultaneously with opening relations with the United States, Cuba is taking steps toward integrating international foreign investment into Cuba’s socialist economy.

Cuba now finds itself at a crossroads, navigating the intricate and multi-faceted transition between a “closed” past and an “open” future. The immediate, high-level impacts of these policy changes are receiving substantial critical attention. Less discussed are the ramifications of these political and economic shifts on daily life, cultural and religious traditions, artistic production, civil society, and professional domains including medicine, journalism, and education.

In Cuba at a Crossroads, we seek to promote a wide-ranging, cross-disciplinary conversation about the paths Cuba will confront in the near future, and the potential economic, political, social, and cultural impact that those choices will make in the daily lives of the Cuban people and their new global partners.

On the 55th anniversary of the trade embargo between the United States and Cuba, this symposium will explore 20th- and 21st-century Cuban realities from across all disciplines.

Information on the symposium program, registration, and lodging and transportation is now available. Please email gclas.geneseo@gmail.com with any questions you have. 

Sponsors

            The State University of New York logo         Logo for the Geneseo Consortium on Latin American Studies

Additional Support

  • Alan Lutkus International Film Series
  • Geneseo Office of International Programs
  • Geneseo Office of Multicultural Affairs
  • Geneseo Department of Anthropology
  • Geneseo Department of Black Studies
  • Geneseo Department of English
  • Geneseo Department of Environmental Studies
  • Geneseo Department of Film Studies
  • Geneseo Department of History
  • Geneseo Department of Languages & Literatures
  • Geneseo Department of Latin American Studies
  • Geneseo Department of Music
  • Geneseo Department of Political Science & International Relations