Against the backdrop of the 1933 and 1959 Cuban Revolutions, dance became highly politicized as performers interacted with the state and expressed ideas choreographically about race, gender, and social change. Starting in the 1930s, citizens invested in ballet as a means for cultural progress. In the 1940s and 1950s, a growing cadre of ballet professionals and their supporters advocated for the government to subsidize the form. Simultaneously, carnival, cabaret, and concert dancers sparked widespread discussion about nation and racial formation, specifically the place of blackness and whiteness in Cuba. As a result, performers and patrons established the political valence of dance as means for reflecting on larger questions about self and society. After 1959, dancers adapted to the regime change while pursuing longstanding projects. Ballet dancers performed aggressive choreography in fatigues, along with traditional ballets from Europe and Russia, as part of their revolutionary repertoire. Dance teachers built upon previous pedagogical efforts and contributed to new social engineering projects to “improve” Cuban youth. In parallel, modern and folkloric dancers choreographically critiqued patriarchy and race relations in a supposedly post-racial society. These performances developed a Cuban way of dancing and watching dance, the latter characterized as engaged and talkative. Dancers and publics built a vibrant establishment that eventually transcended national borders with Cubans dancing and teaching abroad in the 1970s and 1980s. Meanwhile, dancers contributed to the growing tourist industry and pushed for institutional changes at home in the late 1980s. In 1990, Cuba entered a crisis that destabilized the relationship between dance and politics that had developed over the previous six decades. During this period, different dance forms including cabaret, carnival, ballet, modern dance, and folkloric dance received various levels of public and state support. I argue that there were important continuities in dance hierarchies with ballet holding the greatest cultural and political capital starting in the 1930s. I also contend that dancers of different genres employed similar tactics to navigate sociopolitical shifts and expressive parameters across the decades. They consistently shaped dance institutions and asserted the value of their work to revolution and nationhood. This social and cultural history of Cuban dance sheds light on the reach and limitations of state power in Cuba as numerous constituencies engaged with the revolution, maneuvering for agency within a limited public sphere.

Orientador: Carlos Alberto Sampaio Barbosa / Banca: Charles Monteiro / Banca: José Luis Bendicho Beired / Resumo: Gestado nas matas da Sierra Maestra, em meio aos conflitos entre rebeldes e a ditadura de Fulgencio Batista (1952-1958), o jornal Revolución dirigido por Carlos Franqui cumpria o papel de divulgar as conquistas e os ideais dos insurgentes. Com o triunfo da Revolução em 1959, o periódico deixou a clandestinidade e tornou-se um influente veículo de informação do período. Nele trabalharam vários profissionais entre os quais, fotógrafos cujos frutos de suas produções cooperaram na eternização da Revolução como um dos eventos significativos do século XX. Depois dessa virada histórica, os holofotes dos principais meios de comunicação do mundo passaram a dedicar maior atenção aos passos que seriam dados por aquele país. Logo nos primeiros meses, o jovem governo revolucionário encetou uma série de reformas em vários âmbitos da sociedade, sobretudo em regiões rurais onde predominaram durante décadas a pobreza e a ausência de serviços básicos como educação e saúde. Diante das lentes dos fotógrafos de Revolución, os camponeses cubanos passaram a ter suas condições de vida e seus rostos propagados por toda a Ilha, ao passo em que um imaginário sobre si era construído no intuito de sensibilizar, conscientizar e mobilizar a sociedade, principalmente dos centros urbanos, a participarem do processo de mudanças sociopolíticas do país. Porém, os resultados obtidos a partir da meticulosa análise quantitativa e qualitativa do montante de fotografias presentes tanto no jornal quanto no seu suplemento Campo de Revolución, organizadas e catalogadas mostraram que a moldagem desse imaginário não fora unívoca ou rígida, pois a realidade histórica vivida intensamente pelos cubanos nos primeiros três anos tornou-a flexível. Além disso, a metodologia empregada na análise das fotografias permitiu-nos discutir outros assuntos inerentes ao universo rural cubano / Abstract: Raised in the forests of the Sierra Maestra, amid conflicts between rebels and the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista (1952-1958), the newspaper Revolución led by Carlos Franqui played the role of publicizing the achievements and ideals of the insurgents. With the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, the newspaper left the clandestine and became an influential vehicle of information of the period. In it worked several professionals among whom, photographers whose fruits of their productions cooperated in the eternalization of the Revolution like one of the significant events of century XX. After this historic turnaround, the spotlight of the world's mainstream media began to pay more attention to the steps that would be taken by that country. In the early months, the young revolutionary government embarked on a series of reforms in various areas of society, particularly in rural areas where poverty and lack of basic services such as education and health prevailed for decades. Faced with the lenses of the photographers of Revolución, the Cuban peasants began to have their living conditions and their faces propagated throughout the Island, while an imaginary about themselves was built in order to raise awareness, raise awareness and mobilize society, especially the urban centers to participate in the process of socio-political changes in the country. However, the results obtained from the meticulous quantitative and qualitative analysis of the amount of photographs present in both the newspaper and its Campo de Revolución supplement, organized and cataloged, showed that the molding of this imagery was not unequivocal or rigid, since the historical reality lived intensely by Cubans in the first three years made it flexible. In addition, the methodology used in the analysis of the photographs allowed us to discuss other subjects inherent to the Cuban rural universe / Mestre

Alors que la République Démocratique du Congo devient indépendant en juin 1960 seulement quelques semaines après le pays va connaitre une crise politique et sociale qui va durer sept ans. Cette "crise du Congo" qui durera sept ans voit l'arrivée de mouvements sécessionnistes, de rébellions populaires et des forces militaires externes. Dans le cas de le province de Katanga, le moteur économique de la DRC, ces forces militaires externes sont composées de mercenaires européens, sud-africains et/ou rhodésiens embauchés et payés par les sociétés minières belges. Bien que les Nations-unies obligent le départ des mercenaires et arrivent à restaurer l'intégrité de la DRC, dès leur départ en 1963 le pays sombre de nouveau dans le désordre. En effet, une rébellion rurale d'inspiration marxiste et soutenue par la République Populaire de Chine gagne deux tiers du pays. Pire, en juillet 1964, la deuxième ville de la DRC, Stanleyville, est capturé par les forces rebelles et ces Simba menacent la vie de quelques centaines d'Européens, la plupart des citoyens belges.Pour les Etats-Unis qui tentent depuis quatre ans de faire régner la stabilité au Congo, les Simba représentent un vrai danger du fait de leur soutien par la Chine et d'autres pays africains radicaux. Aux yeux des Etats-Unis ce soutien signale que le communisme risque de prend pied dans l'Afrique centrale. En respect des idéologies telles que de Containment et de l'Effet Domino ce n'est pas une situation qui peut perdurer.En manque de forces armées capables de lutter efficacement contre les rebelles tout en gardant leur intervention secrète, les Etats-Unis forment une alliance avec la Belgique et une Armée nationale congolaise (ANC) renforcée par le retour de centaines de mercenaires blancs. D'ailleurs, les Etats-Unis fournissent leurs propres forces clandestines constituées d'exilés cubains recrutés par la CIA. Ces Exilés ont participé dans un nombre d'opérations clandestines montées par la CIA et, notamment, l'invasion de la Baie des Cochons qui visait à déposer Fidel Castro. En participant à ces opérations en avril 1961, ils rejoignent la liste de combattants anti-communistes utilisée par la CIA en Chine, et au Guatemala.Composé de pilotes d'avion et aussi d'une petite force commando, ces Exiles nommées collectivement le Makasi contribuent aux opérations qui visent à libérer Stanleyville et vaincre la rébellion. D'ailleurs, à partir de septembre 1965, une force navale composée d'Exilés va aussi mener des opérations sur le Lac Tanganyika. Ces opérations consistent empêcher l'arrivée dans les zones rebelles des vives et de munitions nécessaires pour la suite de la rébellion. Fournies par les pays tels que la Chine et l'Algérie, les forces rebelles reçoivent de l'aide de la part de Che Guevara. Envie de provoquer une révolution populaire en Afrique, Guevara restera au Congo que six mois. Sa présence dans ce pays ayant été vite détectée par les Etats-Unis, les Exilés cubains en sont avertis et considèrent que la guerre au Congo leur offre la possibilité de prendre une revanche sur Castro et la défaite à la Baie des Cochons. / Whereas the Democratic Republic of the Congo became independent in June 1960 within a very short space of time the country will be torn apart by a series of secession and rebellions. In Katanga, secession is supported by the arrival of a mercenary army and the United Nations is sent to restore order by ridding the Congo of these foreign forces.The UN mission complete and its forces having been withdrawn by July 1963, the Congolese government will then be confronted by a popular rebellion in rural areas of the Congo. Supported by the People's Republic of China and radical African nations this communist-inspired rebellion makes rapid progress and soon two-thirds of the Congo is in the hands of the Simbas, the name adopted by the rebels. By August 1964 the Simbas have reached Stanleyville, the Congo's second largest city, and threaten to kill hundreds of mainly Belgian hostages. With the Congolese National Army being unfit to defeat the rebellion alone, it is reinforced by hundreds of white mercenaries. Seeing the rebellion and its communist support as a threat to its ideologies of Containment and the Domino Theory, the United States also provides military assistance in the shape of an air force and a small commando unit. Known collectively as the Makasi, these US covert forces comprise of Cuban Exiles recruited and paid by the CIA. Many of these Exiles took part in the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961. These Exiles join the list of CIA covert forces who have taken part in secret operations in China and in Guatemala. They will be joined by more veterans of the failed invasion in 1965 when a naval force is created to patrol Lake Tanganyika. It is from here that rebel forces are being supplied with food and weapons provided by communist-bloc nations and supporters. Moreover, from April 1965, the rebel forces will also be joined by Che Guevara who has hopes of starting up a popular revolution in the heart of Africa. Guevara's presence in the Congo being rapidly detected by the US, the Exiles are informed and see the Congo as an opportunity to gain revenge for the Bay of Pigs.

One of the most significant events in the Cold War-dominated years of the 1950's and early1960's was the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It not only has been reputed by most authorities as a major turning point in the Soviet Union-American struggle, but it dramatically illustrated the critical dimension of thermo-nuclear weapons in international relations. In addition, and of particular interest to one directly involved, it showed that firmness in policy and proper application of military power are key factors in obtaining favorable and peaceful settlements of international disputes.

The adjustment and assimilation achieved by Cuban-Americans who arrived in Oregon during the 1960s was notable for its rapidity. Little contact existed between the state and the island prior to the resettlement efforts begun by the Charities Division of the Portland Catholic Archdiocese, where a group of concerned administrators meshed their activities with a nation-wide program created and encouraged by the united States government and private agencies.

The aim of this dissertation is to develop and illustrate a spiritually centered narrative method for transforming disorder into agency and action. I use my own position as a second-generation Hispanic female immigrant to show how training in a spiritual practice that mirrors my ancestral traditions helped me productively move through a sense of displacement, illness, and lack of purpose. My research includes travel to Havana, Cuba, and immersion in a five-week shamanic counseling training program in Tampa, Florida, during which I learned how to narrate my experiences as I engaged in shamanic journeying. As I reflect on these experiences, I explore three questions: How can second-generation immigrants 1) overcome family histories of displacement to create a sense of home? 2) engage in self-care practices that promote healing and nourishing relationships? and 3) create healthy identities and a sense of purpose within their communities? Through the process of writing my own story, I move from individual pathology toward communal creativity and tap into the burgeoning activist movement of bruja feminism.

This dissertation investigates the narrative practice of Latin American Existentialism. My project tracks the structures, themes, and interpretations of Existentialism across national borders in the belief that a common expression exists which is distinctly Latin American. I begin this philosophical cartography, with four Existential(ist) novels produced in Latin America during the 1930s. Specifically, I will examine the Existentialist quality of Enrique Labrador Ruiz's El laberinto de si­ mismo (1933), Mari­a Luisa Bombal's La ultima niebla (1934) and La amortajada (1938), and Graciliano Ramos's Angustia (1936). These narratives are analyzed in relation to the core thematic of Existential philosophy. I read these narratives as Existential(ist) because they are of, relating to and characterized by a philosophy of existence, and because they simultaneously produce an Existential discourse. My study is, at one level, comparative in that I pursue the points of emergence of Existentialism's prominent categories not only across national borders, but also across disciplines. I relate the tradition of Latin American thought in the first half of the 20th century and Existential philosophy from Europe to collectivize the thematic points of contact. These I contrast with our literary production of the 1930s. By emphasizing the particularities and continuations of Latin America's contribution to the Existential canon I, in effect, periodize an era which is foundational in the history of Latin American literature. Furthermore, by acknowledging the literary presence of Latin American Existentialism we can appreciate the explicit narrative interrogation of the Self through aesthetic, ethical, and ontological parameters.

The emplacement of Soviet missiles in Cuba in October of 1962 and the American response to this action thrust the world into its first major nuclear crisis. Because this American-Soviet confrontation seemed to propel the antagonists to the brink of nuclear holocaust, at least in appearance if not also in fact, a vast amount of history has been written on this brief but crucial episode in the Cold War. The purpose of this study is to examine the development of the various historiographical perspectives of the Cuban missile crisis.The traditionalists view President John F. Kennedy as responding by necessity to a Soviet threat to alter the balance of power via the Russian missiles in Cuba. The American response in the form of a quarantine was superb as President Kennedy successfully terminated the crisis by compelling Nikita S. Khrushchev-to withdraw the Soviet missiles from Cuba. The traditionalists praise the President for his exceptional skills in crisis management and for his superb leadership which ultimately resulted in a victory for America as a period of detente ensued between the United States and the Soviet Union.The right wing revisionists accuse President Kennedy encounters with the Soviet Union. They also accuse the President of seeking conciliation with the Russians during the crisis rather than seeking a military victory in the confrontation. According to the right wing perspective, the President suffered a defeat .in the aftermath of the crisis, for his policy of accommodation allowed Castro to continue his dictatorship over Cuba and permitted communism to become entrenched firmly in the Western Hemisphere.The left wing revisionists accuse President Kennedy of rejecting a diplomatic approach to the crisis and initiating the confrontation. For the sake of personal prestige and political expediency, the President arbitrarily transformed an international political problem into an international military crisis. According to the left wing perspective, the aftermath of the crisis instilled in Americans an arrogance of power and resulted in the advancement of the nuclear arms race.The Sovietologists' perspective differs from the other interpretations in that it neither praises nor condemns President Kennedy. The Sovietologists are concerned primarily with the Soviet motives for emplacing missiles in Cuba and for eventually withdrawing them. The Sovietologists ascribe multiple motives to the Russians for their decisions both to of contributing to the instigation his ineptness and lack of decisive of the crisis situation by leadership in previousemplace and to withdraw the missiles in Cuba.The concluding interpretation accuses both Khrushchey and Kennedy of initially acting irresponsibly, the former creating a situation subject to crisis and the latter by creating a needless confrontation. Once the crisis was initiated, the two leaders generally behaved responsibly and cautiously as they attempted to control the crisis. Yet, despite the efforts of Khrushchev and Kennedy, the nuclear confrontation was terminated successfully without armed conflict or catastrophic consequences as much by fortune as by human design.

This project focuses on African American and Afro- Hispanic literature and folklore. Specifically, I employ Fernando Ortiz’s theory of transculturation. Ortiz makes the case that a new Afro- Cuban identity is created with the intermingling of African, Spanish and native inhabitants of Cuba. Using Ortiz’s critical framework as the foundation of my study, I undertake a new critique of Zora Neale Hurston’s portrayal of African American identity. Analyzing Hurston’s work through the model of transculturation, I examine the parallel between her work and that of Lydia Cabrera, a Cuban ethnographer whose work represents Afro-Cuban identity as a transcultural one. Establishing this comparison, I reflect on the similarities and differences among their strategies of representing Transculturation in African- based identities. I look at their works from a womanist lens to analyze how their female anthropologist status influenced their folkloric portrayals and how they enacted a political agenda that emphasized female agency. I also analyze the oral aesthetic of their texts; in my opinion, Hurston and Cabrera reproductions of the spoken are ways to represent transcultural dialogue. Finally I compare their ethnographic studies of the African- based spiritual systems of Santeria and Voodoo.

In this paper it is argued that participation and public art contribute to sustainable community development. This is a study of four Community Projects in Havana made during a two month stay during summer 2009. The study is based on a number of interviews with people involved in the community projects. By using the Cuban culture and participation as a platform for sustainable community development the Community Projects have created a sense of belongingness and identification in each neighbourhood. This in turn has the ability to join the people together in participatory development work. The Community Projects also function as free space since they are one of the few places where Cubans are allowed to make their own initiatives. This has opened up a discussion between the citizens and the authorities which is important for future urban development. The Community Projects also work with public art in a participatory way that has contributed to place identity and public dialogue in Havana.