Revolutionary Cuba
| Module title | Revolutionary Cuba |
|---|---|
| Module code | HIH1039 |
| Academic year | 2019/0 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 30 |
|---|
Module description
This module provides an introduction to the modern history of Cuba beginning with its revolution in 1959. Having ousted an unpopular authoritarian ruler, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara established a revolutionary government that promised full political independence, economic progress, and the integration of hitherto marginalised groups of Cuban society. The Cuban Revolution captured the imagination of a young generation in all camps of the Cold War, who saw the political developments on the appealing tropical island as an inspiration for their own societies. After breaking with the United States, Cuba drew closer to Eastern European socialist states and emulated many elements of the Soviet model – and preserved them even beyond the disintegration of the socialist bloc in 1989.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module aims to:
- Introduce you to the broad range of sources available to the modern historian through study of the main developments of the Cuban Revolution
- Examine various sources, such as photographs, revolutionary icons, music, film, political speeches, memoirs, newspaper articles, and government records
- Allow you to conduct your own research into these sources, consider their value and limitations, and use them to explore particular topics and themes
- Help you develop skills in source analysis and research to provide a foundation for future historical work
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Understand and assess the main developments of the Cuban Revolution
- 2. Work critically with a range of written and visual sources relating to the topic
- 3. Assess the sources in relation to the historical debates, purposes for which different contemporary sources were produced, and analyse and evaluate their reliability and usefulness for the study of Cuban and Cold War history
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Identify the problems of using historical sources, e.g. utility, limitations, etc, and compare the validity of different types of sources
- 5. Answer a question briefly and concisely
- 6. Present work orally, respond to questions orally, and think quickly of questions to ask other students
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Conduct independent study and group work, including the presentation of material for group discussion, developed through the mode of learning
- 8. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment
- 9. Work with others in a team and to interact effectively with the tutor and the wider group
- 10. Write to a very tight word-length
Syllabus plan
Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:
- The preconditions of the Cuban Revolution
- The representation of pre-revolutionary Cuba after Fidel Castro’s victory
- Revolutionary icons
- The admiration for the Cuban Revolution in the Soviet Union
- The admiration for the Cuban Revolution amongst the Western New Left
- Revolutionary songs
- Cuban political posters and graffito
- Cuban cinema
- Cuban cultural politics
- Cuba and the Cold War
- Cuba and the Third World
- The emulation of the Soviet model in Cuba
- Human rights violations in Cuba
- The role of Cuban exiles
- The role of the United States during and in the aftermath of the Revolution
- The preservation of socialism in Cuba after 1989
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 2 | 2 hour lecture: Introduction to module |
| Scheduled learning and teaching | 20 | 10 x 2 hour seminars. At a meeting of the whole class generally a different group of 3-4 students will give a presentation to the whole class, followed by class discussion and working through the sources for that week carefully. Additional sources may be issued in the class and the lecturer will also use the time to set up issues for the following week |
| Guided independent study | 128 | You prepare for the session through reading and research; writing five source commentaries and an essay and preparing one group presentation in the course of the term |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group presentation (3-4 students) | 10-15 minutes | 1-4, 6-7, 9 | Oral |
| Lowest mark from portfolio of 5 source commentaries. | 500 words | 1-5, 7-8, 10 | Mark and written comments. |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 highest marks from portfolio of 5 source commentaries (15% per commentary) | 60 | 2000 words (500 per commentary) | 1-5, 7-8, 10 | Mark and written comments. |
| Essay on sources | 40 | 1500 words | 1-5, 7-8, 10 | Mark and written comments |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 highest marks of portfolio of 5 source commentaries | 4 highest marks of portfolio of 5 source commentaries | 1-5, 7-8, 10 | Referral/Deferral period |
| 1500 word essay | 1500 word essay | 1-5, 7-8, 10 | Referral/Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- Jorge Castañeda, The Life and Death of Che Guevara. Vintage, 1998
- Tobias Rupprecht, Soviet Internationalism after Stalin: Interaction and Exchange between the USSR and Latin America during the Cold War. Cambridge UP 2015
- Tanya Harmer, ‘Two, Three, Many Revolutions? Cuba and the Prospects for Revolutionary Change in Latin America, 1967–1975’, Journal of Latin American Studies 1 (2013), p. 61-89
- Sujatha Fernandes, Cuba Represent! Cuban Arts, State Power, and the Making of New Revolutionary Cultures. Duke UP 2006
- Jaqueline Loss (ed.), Caviar With Rum. Cuba-USSR and the Post-Soviet Experience. Palgrave Macmillan 2012
- Daniel Erikson, The Cuba Wars: Fidel Castro, the United States, and the Next Revolution. Bloomsbury 2010
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 4 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 04/02/2018 |
| Last revision date | 15/03/2019 |
