Courses offered Fall 2009 and Spring 2010

Faculty of Arts and Sciences
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Graduate School of Design
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African and African-American Studies

Yoruba A. Elementary Yoruba
John M Mugane
Full course (indivisible)
Hours to be arranged.Yoruba is spoken in the West African countries of Nigeria, Benin Republic, and parts of Togo and Sierra Leone, therefore constituting one of the largest single languages in sub-Saharan Africa. Yoruba is also spoken in Cuba and Brazil. Students will acquire the Yoruba language at the basic or elementary level.

Yoruba B. Intermediate Yoruba
John M Mugane
Full course (indivisible)
Hours to be arranged.Continuation of Yoruba A. Yoruba is spoken in the West African countries of Nigeria, Benin Republic, and parts of Togo and Sierra Leone, therefore constituting one of the largest single languages in sub-Saharan Africa. Yoruba is also spoken in Cuba and Brazil. Students will acquire the Yoruba language at the basic or elementary level.

Government

Government 1295 : Comparative Politics in Latin America
Steven R. Levitsky
Spring 2010
Examines dynamics of political and economic change in modern Latin America, focusing on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, and Venezuela. Topics include the rise of populism and import-substituting industrialization, revolutions and revolutionary movements, the causes and consequences of military rule, the politics of economic reform, democratic transitions, and democratic consolidation. The course analyzes these phenomena from a variety of different theoretical perspectives, including cultural, dependency, institutionalist, and leadership-centered approaches.

History 

Historical Study B-43: Slavery/Capitalism/Imperialism: The US in the Nineteenth Century
Walter Johnson
Spring 2010
This course treats the history of the 19th-century US and the Civil War in light of the history of US imperialism, especially the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, and the illegal invasions of Cuba and Nicaragua in the 1850s. Likewise, it relates the history of slavery in the US to the Haitian Revolution, the Louisiana Purchase, Indian removal, Atlantic cotton, land and money markets, and the hemispheric history of antislavery.

Historical Study B-64: The Cuban Revolution, 1956-1971: A Self-Debate
Jorge I. Dominguez
Fall 2009
Focus on the insurrectionary war, the consolidation of power, Fidel Castro's role, the role of organized labor and the peasantry, the US-Cuban conflict, the alliance with the Soviet Union, the choice of economic strategy, the "remaking of human beings," the role of intellectuals, the support for revolutions in Africa and Latin America, and the change toward "orthodox" policies. The instructor will debate himself, presenting two or more views on each issue. Readings include original documents in translation.

History 75c: Readings on Modern Latin American History (New Course)
Sergio Silva-Castaneda
Fall 2009
This course serves as an introduction to Latin American historiography, covering the span between the 19th Century's processes of independence and the military dictatorships of the second half of the 20th Century. It includes readings on Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, and Brazil. This course is not designed to provide an extensive review of Latin America; however, the readings have been selected to cover an ample spectrum of themes, sources, countries and historical periods.

Literature

Literature 117 - Literature, Gender, and Revolution
Karen Thornber
Spring 2010
Explores relationships among literature, gender, and revolution in China, Cuba, Iran, Japan, Korea, and Russia from the late 19th century to the present. Readings by Butler, Chukovskaya, Danishvar, de Beauvoir, Foucault, Mikiso Hane, Kim Ilyop, Loynaz, Marruz, Pleck, Qiu Jin, Scott, Tamura Toshiko among others.

Sociology

Sociology 134: Theories of Power and Postcommunist Societies
Laura L. Adams
Fall 2009
Introductory course in contemporary social theory with thematic focus on the concept of power (broadly defined), and an empirical focus on socialist and post-socialist societies including the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, and Cuba. Each week will pair readings from a particular school or theorist (Bourdieu, Foucault, Gramsci, etc.) with readings by authors who employ that theoretical perspective in their research. Topics covered will include class, colonialism, culture, gender, and resistance.

Sociology 222: Transnational Migration from the Hispanic Caribbean (New Course)
Jorge Duany
Fall 2009
A comparative analysis of the transnational experiences of Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican migrants, emphasizing the construction, transformation, and representation of cultural, racial, and ethnic identities among transnational migrants and their descendants.

Urban Planning and Design

1501: Havana In Our Time: Developing Urban Design and Planning Strategies for Change
Studio Option
Leland Cott
Fall 2009

Havana, Cuba, once known as the Pearl of the Antilles, is facing unprecedented pressure for change from increasing tourism, foreign economic interests and the likelihood of an end to the US embargo. How the Cuban Government might balance the pressures of its growing tourist industry and expanding real estate development interest from abroad against the preservation of Havana's historic urban fabric form the basis of this semester's challenge. Tourism, accounting for one-third of Cuba's economy, is driving the speculative development of office buildings, hotels and other related facilities but Havana's infrastructure -- of services and buildings -- is largely obsolete and is thus unable to support most of the anticipated new development. Havana's collection of buildings dating from the colonial period to the modern era of the 1960's remains completely intact, but is severely deteriorated, awaiting preservation and renewal. This studio will study Havana's physical environment and propose planning guidelines and urban design strategies to address sensitive growth issues. New development in Havana must be viable economically and socially but it must also be sustainable and respectful of the city's unique natural and built environment.

This will be the fifth Havana related design studio sponsored by the GSD and directed by Professor Cott since 1999. Working under his direction through the Department of Urban Planning and Design, students will study Havana's 450-year history as a planned city and the forces of change that threaten it. Students will propose "protective" urban design and planning measures followed by a series of design case studies. All of Havana will be considered, but attention will be focused on four districts of the city: the harbor customs house district and its outdated cruise ship facilities; the Malecon, Havana's historic seaside boulevard: La Rampa, Havana's 1950's pre-revolution modern casino and nightclub district; and the Paseo del Prado, Havana's most beautiful street redesigned early in the 20th Century by noted landscape architect Jean-Claude Nicolas Forrestier.

United States law prohibits short-term student travel to Cuba and although one-week travel to Havana was permitted during the earlier studios, it appears that this will not be possible at this time. The studio will rely on previous studio publications and on Professor Cott's photographic and base map collection of Havana as well as his personal accounts and professional contacts there. Professor Mario Coyula a prominent Cuban architect / urbanist and former visiting critic at the GSD and architect Julio Cesar Perez, a former GSD Loeb Fellow will be available via email from Havana. Lectures on Havana's urban environment, its colonial and modern architecture and a film series will be offered by Professor Cott throughout the semester.