Cuban Studies Since the Revolution

From the Foreword:

"In the face of the collapse of socialism and the withering away of Communist parties throughout Europe, Fidel Castro's resistance to this change will intensify attention on the country's future. This volume contributes to the scholarly dimension of concern about Cuba."--Mark B. Rosenberg, director, Latin American and Caribbean Center, Florida International University

"Scholarship of very high quality. . . . It illustrates the futility of breaking up the study of Cuba exclusively into pre- and post-1959 periods, offering an integrated, evolutionary approach."--Juan M. del Aguila, Emory University

In recent years few countries have generated so much debate and controversy as Cuba. Since the Cuban Revolution of 1959, discussions have been characterized by polemics, and scholars who specialize in that country often have "talked past, rather than to, each other," according to Fernandez.

For the first time in the past three decades we now have a comprehensive discourse on the epistemology of Cuban studies. This work evaluates the key areas of inquiry and research in the field, documenting the unresolved issues and offering points of departure for future study of Cuba in particular and for social science research in general.

Leading Cuban specialists address the disciplines of political science, international relations, economics, literature, history, and sociology. While the authors represent multiple vantage points, they share a sense of the need to reevaluate their approaches to the sociopolitical reality of the island. "Uncertainty in the world necessarily translates into uncertainty for us," Fernandez writes. "Long gone are the simple and universalistic explanations for a confused and confusing reality. This book is part of an ongoing revitalization of our area of study."

Contributors: Isabel Castellanos, Jorge I. Dominguez, Susan Eckstein, Damian J. Fernandez, Roberto Gonzalez-Echevarria, Peter J. Johnson, Anthony P. Maingot, Rosa Q. Mesa, Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Silvia Pedraza, Lisandro Perez, Louis A. Perez, Jr., Gustavo Perez Firmat, Jorge F. Perez-Lopez, Marifeli Perez-Stable, Gerald E. Poyo, Rhoda P. Rabkin, Sergio G. Roca, Rebecca Scott

Damian J. Fernandez is director of the graduate program in international studies and assistant professor of international relations at Florida International University in Miami. He is the author of Cuba's Foreign Policy in the Middle East and editor of Central America and the Middle East: The Internationalization of the Crises.