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The Department of Politics 2008/2009 POL3021 THE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICS 2011/2012 POL3021 CUBA IN THE POST-BIPOLAR WORLD Level 3 Credit Value 20 Semester Taught One Semester Examined One Module Leader Steve Ludlam Email [email protected] Office 1.23 Tel Ext 21665 Description Cuba is a political enigma about which perceptions vary, and vary dramatically. On the one hand, it is a Caribbean paradise celebrated across the world for the liberated exuberance of its music and dance, and visited by millions of tourists. Across the developing world, it is celebrated for its first-world welfare state, as an anti-imperialist stronghold exporting its brigades of health and education workers, and for its fighters‘ role in the defeat of apartheid in southern Africa. Yet, on the other hand, especially from Washington and Miami, it is seen as a communist hulk kept afloat by the iron will of the Castro brothers, Marxist-Leninist dictators denying their oppressed people integration into the ‗free world‘. To some, therefore, it is an inspiring miracle, to others an inexplicable curse, that the Cuban Revolution has survived the disintegration of the ‗socialist camp‘ in Europe and the Soviet Union, that took with it 80% of Cuba‘s trade and 40% of its national income. In this module you will have the opportunity to get behind the caricatures, and to develop an understanding of how the Cuban Revolution survived the Soviet collapse, of what kind of society Cuba is today, of how its politics work, and of where it might be going in the future, not least in the light of the political changes in Latin America, the retirement of Fidel Castro, and the elections of presidents Raul Castro and Barack Obama. Objectives By the end of the module, students should be able to: . Display a critical understanding of the historical origins and political character of Cuban nationalism. Display a critical understanding of the social and economic development of Cuba since 1959. Be able to discuss and evaluate the development of Cuba‘s political institutions and organisations. Display a critical understanding of the patterns of dependency and conflict deriving from Cuba‘s relationships with the USSR and the USA. Discuss and evaluate Cuba‘s domestic and international ‗opening‘ to capitalism. Discuss and evaluate the impact of Cuba‘s ‗Special Period‘ on its social and political development. Discuss and evaluate contemporary debates on the future of the Cuban Revolution. Organisation 11 two-hour weekly seminars. Group 1 – Wednesday 11:10 – 1:00pm in Elmfield SR G20. Group 2 – Thursday 1:10 – 3:00pm in Elmfield SR 215. YOU MUST ATTEND THE SEMINAR GROUP THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED TO. Requirements Attendance at and participation in all seminars, including oral presentation Submission of two paper copies of each of two essays: (essay 1) by 12.00 noon on Monday 21 November 2011, and (essay 2) by 12.00 noon on Monday 23 January 2012. Electronic versions must also be submitted via MOLE by the same deadlines. 120 hours of private study Assessment Two essays, each 50% of module mark 1 POL3021 Essay 1 titles (choose one) 1. ‗The Cuban Revolution began as a nationalist revolt.‘ Discuss. 2. Why did the Cuban Revolution move towards communism? 3. What achievements underpin the legitimacy of the Cuban Revolution? 4. Was Cuba a Soviet puppet during the Cold War? 5. Is Cuba a democracy? 6. Did the ‗Special Period‘ reforms signal and end to socialism in Cuba? 7. What has been the impact on Cuban society of the ‗Special Period‘? 8. As it has recovered from the post-Soviet crisis, how has Cuba tried to restore its socialist project? Essay 2 titles (choose one) 1. What kind of ‗civil society‘ does Cuba have? 2. Why was the US embargo tightened after the collapse of the USSR? 3. What role has terrorism played in Cuba-US relations? 4. Do civil rights in Cuba justify the significance of the rights issue in Cuba‘s foreign relations? 5. Do Cuba‘s relations with Latin America in the 21st century guarantee the Revolution‘s future? 6. Is Cuba‘s medical internationalism a humanitarian or a diplomatic phenomenon? 7. Has Obama made a difference to Cuba-US relations? 8. Does the Cuban Revolution have a future? Essays must, to avoid the risk of adjustment of marks be fully referenced and include a bibliography in one of the two obligatory formats set out in the Politics Department Undergraduate Handbook be a maximum of 3000 words in length (each essay) include a word count on the title page be submitted both in paper format and electronically to MOLE The Undergraduate Handbook (also on the Department website) contains guidance on: essay writing and other academic skills required referencing/bibliography styles marking criteria criteria for awarding degrees rules governing submission of assessed work and attendance non-attendance late submission of assessed work submission of over-length work Two paper copies and an electronic copy of each essay must be handed in: the first essay by 12.00 noon on Monday 21 November 2011, the second essay by 12.00 noon on Monday 23 January 2012. Standard penalties for late submission will automatically apply. Please do not harass the office staff if you miss the deadline. Note that waiting times for printing in computing suites can be considerable at busy times of the year. Applications for deadline extensions must be made in advance on the appropriate form available in the Department Office, with accompanying medical (not self-certificated) or equivalent written evidence. Study Hours For a twenty-credit module, about twelve hours per week of private study are normally expected. (For guidance on study techniques see the Undergraduate Handbook.) 2 POL3021 General Regulation Students should refer to the current Department of Politics Undergraduate Handbook for guidance on regulations. Please note that students are required to perform satisfactorily in all components of assessment (all elements of assessed coursework and examinations) before credits can be awarded for a module. Seminar Attendance Attendance at seminars is compulsory. It is your responsibility to ensure that you sign the attendance sheet. Where possible, if you are unable to attend a seminar you should attempt to inform the Undergraduate Office in advance. Recommended Reading: ‘core texts’ and general texts Please note that, as a matter of departmental policy, the library does not normally hold sufficient library copies of module texts that are 'recommended for purchase' to guarantee easy access. The following are all available in paperback editions (including the Cuban editions but you may have to go to Cuba to get them!). ‗Core texts‘ (for the purposes of marking criteria) Kapcia, A. (2008) Cuba in revolution: a history since the fifties (Reaktion) is very usefully thematic, and the best of the 50th anniversary studies. Brenner, P., Jimenez, M.R, Kirk, J.M and Leogrande, W.M (2008) A contemporary Cuba reader: re-inventing the revolution (Rowan and Littlefield) is pretty comprehensive and up-to-date. Lambie, G. (2010) The Cuban Revolution in the 21st century (Pluto Press) puts the analysis of Cuba in the contexts of democratisation and globalisation theories, before discussing the building of revolutionary Cuba, the post-Soviet crisis, and the current prospects. Sweig, J. (2009) Cuba: what everyone needs to know (OUP) by a serious US Cuba scholar, offering a compendium of potted answers to about 150 questions with a wide and revelant coverage – a good place to get an orientation on many issues. Bell Lara, J. & Dello Buono, R.A. (2005) Cuba in the 21st century: realities and perspectives (Editorial José Martí) (in the library in several copies, but not on sale in the UK) is a focused collection of essays by Cuban academics on key topics in the module Lievesley, G. (2004) The Cuban revolution: past, present and future (Palgrave) is a sympathetic and critical analysis covering many of our topics. Saney, I. (2004) Cuba: a Revolution in Motion (Zed Books) is also a sympathetic and critical analysis covering many of our topics (look out for a 2009 edition). Camona Baez, A. (2004) State resistance to globalisation in Cuba (Pluto Press) is the most comprehensive analysis in English of Cuba‘s survival strategy since the collapse of the Soviet bloc (you can skip the theoretical introduction if you wish). Other general texts and collections referred to in the first sections of seminar reading lists: Chomsky, A. et al (2004) The Cuba Reader: history, culture, politics (Duke University Press) is an extensive collection of extracts and short pieces that cover many topics, but less on the most recent period. Hoffman, B. & Whitehead, L. (Eds) (2007) Debating Cuban exceptionalism (Palgrave) contains much useful material as well as discussing a concept much deployed in debate about Cuba. Gott, R. (2004) Cuba: a new history (Yale University Press) is a detailed historical survey by a veteran and sympathetic student of the Cuban Revolution. 3 POL3021 Kapcia, A. (2000) Cuba: island of dreams (Berg) is a richly detailed analysis of the originality of the forces and ideas driving the process of the revolution in Cuba. Perez-Stable, M. (1999) The Cuban Revolution: origins, course, legacy (Oxford UP) covers many key topics and is accessible as an Ebook! Martínez Puentes, S. (2004) Cuba : beyond our dreams : economy, politics and unionism in the material, moral and human work of the Cuban Revolution (Editorial José Martí) (in the library in several copies) is a wide-ranging handbook of facts and arguments about the Cuban Revolution and its progress, originally written as a reference book for Cuban trade union activists. Castro, F. & Ramonet, I. (2007) Fidel Castro: my life (Penguin) is in effect the autobiography and contains material on many of the topics covered in the module.
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