Submitted to NCHC Meeting in Atlanta, November
2017
Title
Cuba and Honors: Two Colleges Experience
International Education
Authors
Edward Kardas, Southern Arkansas University
Joseph Gonzalez, Appalachian State University
Laura Nash, Southern Arkansas University
Paige Anderholm, Appalachian State University
Kenyon Jeffrey, Appalachian State University
Abstract
Two professors and three students from two schools describe their
experiences in traveling to Cuba. For SAU, traveling to Cuba required
two week-long preparatory visits, attendance at an international conference in
Havana, two 8-day tours with students, personal contact with Cuban officials,
and overcoming much red tape. Speaking and writing Spanish well were important
in many ways to ultimately getting permission to visit and to work with Cuban
faculty and students for a week on their campus. The result was the creation of
a large mural on their campus. The student from SAU traveled there during
the third trip visiting several cities on the island. The short time spent
there felt like several weeks, she said. She found Cuba beautiful, clear, and
clean and noted that Cubans scrimped and saved for their cars, farms, and daily
lives. She was struck on how much the Embargo had slowed progress. She wishes
to return to continue learning about the unique experiences Cuba has to offer.
ASU's visits were part of a course on Cuban culture (including music and
dance). The first trip showed mixed results in that students treated it more
like a vacation than a learning opportunity. Thus, changes were made during the
subsequent trip (increasing academic rigor and recruiting serious
participants). Those changes were successful and will be reported here.
Students acted more like travelers, not tourists. They avoided the tourist
sites, slept in private homes, and traveled in buses and taxis. They
reported that Cuba offered friendship, spectacle, music, dance, and food, but
the language barrier was a challenge. At the same time, they realized their
responsibility to act as ambassadors from a country many Cubans still viewed as
an implacable enemy. The trip made them view themselves in new and more mature
ways.
Track
General Session
Topic Areas
•
International Education
•
Honors Pedagogy
•
Faculty
LCD Projector Requested?
Yes
LCD Projector Information
Yes
Mac Adaptors
Yes
Description for
the conference program
Professors and students from two colleges describe the challenges,
opportunities, and rewards of traveling to Cuba. Getting there requires
overcoming much red tape and a working knowledge of Spanish. Cuba offers unique
cultural, agricultural, historical, and artistic opportunities for Americans,
especially for those who come as travelers not tourists.
If you have presented a similar session at NCHC or a related
conference in the recent past, please indicate why the topic is relevant for
presentation in 2017.
Submission Date
9th Mar 2017, 10:27am EST
Latest Update
9th Mar 2017, 11:49am EST
Submission ID
390
