Picking Up the Pieces:
The Demise of Cuba's Nuclear Ambition and Prospects for the Future

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

Recent Publications on Cuba and Cuban-Americans:
A Panel and Book Party

Invited Authors

Yvonne M. Conde
Operation Pedro Pan (Routledge Press, 1999)

Ada Ferrer
Insurgent Cuba: Race, Nation, and Revolution, 1868-1898
University of North Carolina Press, 1999)

Peter Roman
People's Power: Cuba's Experience with Representative
Government (Westview Press, 1999)

Pamela Smorkaloff
Cuban Writers On and Off the Island:
Contemporary Narrative Fiction
(Twayne, World Literature Series, 1999)

Thursday
December 16, 1999
4:00 PM

9th Floor Conference Room (9204)
The Graduate Center
City University of New York
365 Fifth Avenue (@34th St.)
(Across from Empire State Bldg.)
Manhattan

Pre-registration is required:
Phone 718 997-2846 or Send Email to:
cubaproject@gc.cuny.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.

The CUBA Seminar

Queens College and
Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

Transitions in Eastern Europe and the Ex-USSR: Implications for Cuba

Ernesto Hernández-Catá
(Associate Director, IMF's African Department, past Deputy Director of the European II and the Western Hemisphere Departments)

Rolando Castañeda
(Inter-American Development Bank, Senior Economist, co-author of Arcos Principles)

Friday
November 12, 1999
4:00 P.M.

Room 6421 (Conference Room)
Graduate School and University Center
365 Fifth Avenue (@34th St.)
Manhattan

Pre-registration is required:
Phone 718 997-2846 or Send Email to:
cubaproject@gc.cuny.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.

Ernesto Hernández-Catá is Associate Director, IMF's African Department, and past Deputy Director of the European II and the Western Hemisphere Departments at the IMF. Born in Havana, he received a "License" from the Graduate Institute of International Studies (Geneva, Switzerland), and a Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University. Prior to joining the IMF, he served as Economist in the Division of International Finance of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and held teaching positions at American University and the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Rolando Castañeda is Senior Economist at the Inter-American Development Bank and co-author of the Arcos Principles. He has authored or co-authored numerous works on Cuba.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Castañeda, Rolando (1999), "Cuba y los Antiguos Países Socialistas de Europa: La Importancia de los Aspectos Institucionales y de Economía Política en la Transición del Socialismo a una Economía de Mercado," Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy.

Hernández-Catá, Ernesto (1998), "Adjustment and Reform in Cuba: A Critical Assessment," in Perspectives on Cuban Economic Reform (J.F. Perez-Lopez and M.F. Travieso-Diaz, editors) Center for Latin American Studies, Arizona State University Press.

Hernández-Catá, Ernesto (1997), "Liberalization and the Behavior of Output During the Transition from Plan to Market," IMF Staff Paper (December).

Hernández-Catá, Ernesto (1995), "Russia and the IMF: The Political Economy of Macro-Stabilization," Problems of Post-Communism, May, pp.19-26.

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

CUBA: New Trends in the Arts

Victor Casaus
Director, Centro Cultural Pedro de la Torriente Brau

Victor Casaus, poet, cineaste, narrator and journalist, received his licenciate in Hispanic Language and Literature from the University of Havana. His poetry first became known in the 1960s as part of the generation that founded the periodical El Caiman Barbudo, the most influential arts journal of the period.

Wednesday
November 10, 1999
7:30 P.M.

Hunter College
West Building, Room 217
68th Street & Lexington Avenue, Manhattan
[This talk will be in Spanish]

Pre-registration is required:
Phone 718 997-2846 or Send Email to:
cubaproject@gc.cuny.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

Lengua y Literatura en Cuba

Dr. Nuria Gregori Torada
Director, Instituto de Literatura y Linguística
and Vice-President, Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País Havana

Thursday
November 4, 1999
11:00 A.M.

Kissena Hall 224 (Conference Room)
Sociology Department
Queens College
64-19 Kissena Blvd
Flushing, New York
[This talk will be in Spanish]

Pre-registration is required:
Phone 718 997-2846 or Send Email to:
cubaproject@gc.cuny.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

International Cuba Policy
Series
Cuba Policy in the United States

By Charles S. Shapiro
Director, Office of Cuban Affairs,
U.S. Department of State.

Charles S. Shapiro served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Santiago, Chile (1995-1998); Deputy Chief of Mission in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (1991-1994); Political Counselor in San Salvador, El Salvador (1985-1988); and Political Officer in Copenhagen, Denmark (1979-1981). Mr. Shapiro joined the Department of State in 1977. Other Washington assignments include Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs, Division Chief for South America in the Bureau of International Narcotics Matters, Deputy Director in the Office of Andean Affairs, and Desk Officer for El Salvador (1983-1985).

Wednesday
October 27, 1999
12:30 P.M.

19th Floor Conference Room
Queens College Extension Service
25 West 43 St. (between 5th and 6th)
Manhattan

Pre-registration is required:
Phone 718 997-2846 or Send Email to:
cubaproject@gc.cuny.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

Gender and Race in Cuba

Julio César González Pajes
Professor of History, University of Havana
&
Leonardo Tur Broche
Cuban Historian

Julio César González Pajes has been Visiting Scholar and Invited Guest Lecturer at several universities in the United States and Latin America. President of the NGO "Gender and Peace Commission.

Leonardo Tur Broche has published several articles and is completing a book-length manuscript on the First Cuban Women's National Congress (1923, 1925).

Friday
October 22, 1999
4:00 P.M.

19th Floor Conference Room
QC Labor Resource Center
25 West 43rd St. (Between 5th and 6th)
Manhattan
[This talk will be in Spanish]

Pre-registration is required:
Phone 718 997-2846 or Send Email to:
cubaproject@gc.cuny.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

US Cuba Policy Today:
How We Got There, Where We Should Be

By Richard Nuccio

Richard Nuccio served as President Clinton's special adviser for Cuba from 1995-1996. He was also coordinator for the Guatemalan peace process and a senior policy adviser in the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs of the State Department (1993-1997). He worked as a staff member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (1991-1993) and as senior policy adviser to Senator Robert G. Torricelli (D-NJ). He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

Friday
September 17, 1999
4:00 P.M.

19th Floor Conference Room
Labor Resource Center/QC Extension Service
25 West 43 Street,
Manhattan

Pre-registration is required:
Phone 718 997-2846 or Send Email to:
cubaproject@gc.cuny.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

Cuban Society in Perspective:
Trends in Cuban Social Research

A special summer colloquium with:

Aurelio Alonso
Mayra Espina
Ernel González Mastrapa
Juan Luís Martín
And local Cuba specialists

Aurelio Alonso and Mayra Espina are senior researchers at the Center for Psychological and Social Research (CIPS). Dr. Alonso will talk about religion in Cuba. Dr. Espina will discuss research on changes in social structure. Dr. Gonzalez Mastrapa, chair of the department of sociology at the University of Havana, will present findings from his research on the Cuban countryside. Lic. Juan Luís Martín, director of CIPS, will focus on the development of social science in Cuba.

Aurelio Alonso is Senior Researcher at Center for Psychological and Social Research (CIPS, Havana). Dr. Alonso will discuss his work on religion and society in the 1990s. A Spanish-language summary of his talk reads: En la década de los años noventa confluyen la recuperación propia de los mecanismos de reproducción religiosa y los efectos de la sacudida económico-social provocada por el derrumbe socialista. En estas coordenadas se observa una intensificación apreciable de la espiritualidad religiosa en toda la extensión de sus manifestaciones, el avance institucional de las iglesias y las organizaciones religiosas, la revisión de políticas y dispositivos relacionales y, de conjunto, el redimensionamiento del hecho religioso en el seno de las relaciones sociales. La exposición intentará integrar un balance del cuadro sociorreligioso actual del país, su realidad y sus perspectivas visibles.

Mayra Espina is Senior Researcher at CIPS. She will focus on changes in social structure: Uno de los efectos más evidentes y sentidos que la crisis y la reforma económica han tenido sobre la sociedad cubana de los 90, que expresa con mucha fuerza el entrelazamiento de los procesos macrosociales, la vida cotidiana y los destinos personales, es el ensanchamiento brusco de las brechas de desigualdad, asociado a una acelerada reestratificación. En este texto se ofrece una síntesis de los aportes más importantes de la sociología cubana en los últimos años en el campo de los estudios socioestructurales y de la interpretación que desde esta disciplina se ha elaborado sobre el proceso actual de reestratificación y sus consecuencias.

Ernel González Mastrapa is chair of the department of sociology at the University of Havana. As sketched in this summary, his presentation will discuss recent agrarian transformations: En la década del 90 la sociedad cubana enfrenta una profunda crisis económica que planteó la necesidad de reformas en la economía y la sociedad. El sector agropecuario fue particularmente afectado por la crisis. Después de varios experimentos dentro del modelo de planifiación central estatal se optó en 1993 por la transformación del sector agrario estatal en un sector cooperativo. El proceso de desestatalización de la economía cubana y la conformación de nuevos actores cooperativos ha planteado una serie de interrogantes que la investigación social ha pretendido recoger a través del acompañamiento de este proceso y el correspondiente análisis crítico de los resultados obtenidos. En su desarrollo el proceso de cooperativización ha enfrentado dificultades relacionadas con la autonomía de los agroproductores, la integración horizontal y cambios tecnológicos y el desarrollo local. Estos temas son expuestos en la ponencia.

Juan Luis Martín is Director, CIPS. He will present recent work on the social sciences in Cuba. La situación de las Ciencias Sociales en Cuba puede subdividirse en dos conjunto de rasgos: Aquellos que parecen ser comunes a este campo disciplinario a escala mundial y en su expresión local cubana adoptan solo ligeros matices específicos. Aquellos que se aprecian como problemas particulares derivados de las especificidades de la historia y cultura nacionales y regionales así como de su sistema social. La ponencia propone una identificación en orden jerárquico de los dos conjuntos y evalúa su significado.

Wednesday
August 11, 1999
3:00 P.M. - 5:30 P.M.
[This discussion will be partly in Spanish, with summary translation]

Pre-registration is required:
Phone 718 997-2846 or Send Email to:
cubaproject@gc.cuny.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

Picking Up the Pieces:
The Demise of Cuba's Nuclear Ambition and Prospects for the Future

Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado
University of Georgia

Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Georgia's Center for International Trade and Security. He is currently conducting research on Cuba's efforts to develop a nuclear energy capability and broader infrastructure and energy development issues. Since 1992, he has visited Cuba six times for field research on the nuclear energy development program and has conducted interviews with a number of senior government officials in Cuba's nuclear and related agencies. He has published several articles on the subject and is finishing a book titled, Power to the People: The Cuban Nuclear Energy Program (Routledge, 1999, forthcoming). Dr. Benjamin-Alvarado has received research and travel grants form the Amos Foundation, The MacArthur Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The Johns Hopkins University Cuba Exchange Program, and the University of Georgia for his work on Cuba. He is Principal Investigator of "Energy Options for a Developing Cuba: Implications for the United States," a collaborative study between the University of Georgia and the Atlantic Council of the U.S. He received his M.A. in International Policy Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Georgia.

Tuesday May 18, 1999
4:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.
19th Floor, 25 W. 43 Street (Conference Room)
(Queens College Extension Service: Labor Resource Center)
City University of New York
Manhattan

Refreshments served

Material for this seminar is available at the CUBA Project's website as
occasional papers

Pre-registration is required:
Phone 718 997-2846 or Send Email to:
cubaproject@gc.cuny.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation and the Social Science Research Council.

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

Comparing the Cuban and Mexican Revolutions

Santiago Pérez Benítez
Professor of Inter-American Relations
Instituto Superior de Relaciones Internacionales (Havana)
Doctoral Candidate at UNAM (Mexico)

Friday May 14, 1999
4:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.

Room 1500, Grace Bldg.
Entrance Adjacent to 33 West 42 Street
Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York
Manhattan
(Should you need directions, ask guard at 33 West 42 Street)

Refreshments served

Pre-registration is required:
Phone 718 997-2846 or Send Email to:
cubaproject@gc.cuny.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation.

The CUBA Seminar

Queens College and
Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York
and
REFORMA
National Association to Promote Library Services to the Spanish-Speaking
Northeast Chapter

Conversatorio
Children's Literature in Cuba

Alicia Abascal
Universidad Pedagógica de La Habana, Profesora de Literatura Infantil. Asesora Docente de la Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad.

Monday May 10, 1999
6:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.

19th Floor, 25 W. 43 Street
Conference Room
(Queens College Extension Service
Labor Resource Center)
Manhattan

Refreshments served
This special edition of the Cuba Seminar will be in Spanish

Space is limited. Reserve at 718-997-2846
or Send Email to: font@soc1.soc.qc.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation.

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

"Elite Hispano-Cubana en el Siglo XIX: Autonomismo y el Desastre del '98"

Mariano Esteban de Vega
Universidad de Salamanca, Spain

José Cayuela Fernández
Universidad de Castilla-la Mancha, Spain

Discussant:
Alfonso W. Quiroz
GSUC and Baruch College, City University of New York

Friday April 30, 1999
4:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.

19th Floor, 25 W. 43 Street Conference Room
(Queens College Extension Service:
Labor Resource Center)
City University of New York
Manhattan

Refreshments served

Space is limited. Reserve at 718-997-2846
or Send Email to: font@soc1.soc.qc.edu

Reconocidos historiadores jovenes especializados en historia cubana y española. José Cayuela (Profesor, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha) tiene publicado, junto con Angel Bahamonde, el libro Hacer las Americas. Las elites coloniales españolas en el siglo XIX (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1992); es autor además de Bahía de Ultramar. España y Cuba en el siglo XIX: el control de las relaciones coloniales (Madrid: Editorial Siglo XXI, 1993) entre otras muchas publicaciones. Mariano Esteban de Vega (Profesor, Universidad de Salamanca), es coeditor de La historia contemporánea en España (Salamanca: Ed. Universidad de Salamanca, 1996), entre otras publicaciones y "El régimen autonómico español en Cuba" en la obra en varios volúmenes Los 98 Ibéricos y el mar (Madrid: Comisaría General de España, Expo Lisboa '98, 1998) co-editada por Estaban y Cayuela, entre otros.

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation.

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

Baseball and History in Cuba

Roberto González-Echevarría
Sterling Professor, Yale University
Author of:
The Pride of Havana: A History of Baseball in Cuba
(Oxford University Press)

Friday April 16, 1999
5:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M.

19th Floor, 25 W. 43 Street ( Conference Room)
(Queens College Extension Service:
Labor Resource Center)
City University of New York
Manhattan

Refreshments served

Space is limited. Reserve at 718-997-2846
or Send Email to: font@soc1.soc.qc.edu

Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria is a Sterling Professor at Yale University, where he also chairs the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. He has authored several books and over a hundred articles. His latest works include: The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball (Oxford University Press); En un Lugar de la Mancha: Homenaje a Manuel Duran (co-edited with Georgina Dopico-Black); and a Spanish version of his 1990 award-winning book Myth and Archive: A Theory of Latin American Narrative (Cambridge University Press). Gonzalez-Echevarria is primarily interested in Spanish, Latin American, French and Italian literatures, and is currently working on a book on Cervantes. He is also active in critical theory, and serves on the board of several scholarly journals.

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation.

The CUBA Seminar

Graduate School and University Center
City University of New York

Political Disaffection: Cuba's Revolution and Exodus

Silvia Pedraza
Department of Sociology, University of Michigan

Friday February 26, 1999
4:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M.

19th Floor, 25 W. 43 Street ( Room "D")
(Queens College Extension Service:
Labor Resource Center)
City University of New York
Manhattan

Refreshments served

Space is limited. Reserve at 718-997-2809
or Send Email to: font@soc1.soc.qc.edu

This event is organized by the Cuba Project, with support from the Ford Foundation and the Christopher Reynolds Foundation.