OUR CUBA: CONTEXTUALIZING A VIBRANT HISTORY
Edited by Nancy Wright, John Winterdyk, and Vilma Páez Pérez
This unique book is the first in English to present an overview of Cuban history and, in particular, the influence of transculturation on that history. The product of a unique collaboration among noted Cuban scholars in a variety of fields and Canadian scholars Nancy Wright and John Winterdyk, the book examines Cuba’s history, constitutional and legal framework, and numerous aspects of its society, including education, criminal justice, and cultural policy.
PRAISE FOR OUR CUBA
"Our Cuba: Contextualizing a Vibrant History constitutes a rigorous scholarly exploration of Cuba's historical, legal, socio-political, and cultural evolution, presented authentically through Cuban academic lenses. It is a unique and timely anthology about a country that has endured the hardship of an American embargo for over 60 years. The book meticulously addresses prevailing misconceptions, employing critical analyses grounded firmly in empirical research and the lived realities of its contributors. Its editorial collaboration between Cuban and Canadian scholars uniquely bridges national and international academic dialogues, providing nuanced insights into transculturation, resilience, and resistance amidst external pressures. By situating Cuban experiences within broader academic discourses, this publication emerges as an essential resource for scholars and researchers committed to a comprehensive understanding of Cuba." --- Dr. Vasiliki Artinopoulou, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens
"Our Cuba will move hearts and minds about Cuban history and the harsh necessity of ongoing resistance by the Cuban people to intervention by the United States. It is a welcome and timely academic reader. A superb collection of Cuban intellectual voices is brought together in English through cooperation between Canadian and Cuban editors. It is a veritable tour de force that documents the blockade and exposes its neocolonial underbelly. Highly detailed, well-researched, erudite! An indispensable source of knowledge about the Cuban people's long struggle for self-determination in the shadow of sleeping giants. It shows that Cuba is itself a sleeping giant whose strength lies in progressive social politics, inclusion, education, and a shared belief in the global future." ---Roxanne Rimstead, University of Sherbrooke
CONTENTS
Preface by José Vega Suñol
1. A Brief Historical Overview of Cuba: 1492–2020 / Carlos Córdova Martínez and José Novoa Betancourt
2. Cuba and Its Transformations in the New Millennium / Luis Orlando Aguilera García
3. Some Considerations on the Updating of the Cuban Economic Model: Evolution of the Cuban Economy, 1989–2016 / Miguel Ramón Torres Pérez / Afterword: A Brief Update on the Cuban Economic Model from 2016 to 2023
4. Blockade? Embargo? It’s More Than Just Semantics… / Salvador Escalante Batista and Paul Sarmiento Blanco
5. Guantanamo: A U.S. Thorn in Cuba’s Side / Vilma Páez Pérez and Salvador Escalante Batista
6. Social Justice and Democracy in the Cuban Revolution / Vladimir Pita Simón, Julio Eduardo Ávila Pérez, and Violeta Rosa Mejías Rojas
7. The Cuban Socialist Constitution and Legal System / José Augusto Ochoa del Río
8.The Cuban Criminal Justice System: A Social Reintegration Model / Manuel Alberto Leyva Estupiñán, Larisbel Lugo Arteaga, and Luis Manuel Probance Labrada
9. Sociocultural Anthropology in Cuba: Historical Overview / José Vega Suñol
10. Education in Cuba: A Model of Justice and Social Equity / Yohannia Ochoa Ardite and Vilma Páez Pérez
11. The Cultural Policy of the Cuban Revolution: Roots, Utopia, and Reality / Rolando Bellido Aguilera
Epilogue: An “Outsiders’” Perspective / Wright and Winterdyk
