Five PC students arrive in Cuba for fall semester
Sept. 4, 2008
The second year of the Presbyterian College/University of Havana Semester in Cuba Program began recently with the arrival of five PC students in Havana.
The quintet will begin a program of study that includes educational activities in the city of Havana and in six provinces of the island country.
The group includes: Thomas Capell, a senior history major and religion minor from Johnston, S.C.; Bru Fout, a senior political science major and history minor from Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Steven Knotts, a senior history major with minors in political science and English from Summerville, S.C.; Dulce Mange, a junior religion and philosophy major from Davidson, N.C.; and Brittany Rawlinson, a senior political science major and Africana studies minor from Rock Hill, S.C.
The students spent their first week in Cuba in an orientation program that included visits to Old Havana, the Capital building, the Museum of the Revolution, the José Martí Memorial, and the Casa de Amistad (House of Friendship), where most of their classes will be held.
"From the short time we have been here in Havana it has become clear to us that it is a city of rich and diverse culture," said Capell.
Rawlinson said the group has benefitted from its own guide - PC’s own professor of sociology Dr. Charles McKelvey, the resident director of the program.
"It's like our own version of the PC community," she said.
This month, the students will enroll in a program of intensive study of Spanish offered by the University of Havana for international students, during which they will have Spanish classes five days a week for three hours a day. Most of their other classes will be delayed until October to allow students to concentrate on the study of Spanish in September.
In addition to Spanish, the students will take four courses taught in English - Cuban History, Politics, and Society; Third World Underdevelopment and Politics; History of the Relations between Cuba and the United States; and tutorials developed in accordance with the interests of each student. The courses will be taught by a team consisting of three professors of the Center for U.S. and Hemispheric Studies of the University of Havana, in addition to McKelvey.
"I am excited about expanding my world consciousness through the exchange of worldviews that will occur in our intimate classroom settings," said Knotts.
Dr. Booker Ingram, Dana Professor of Political Science, will be visiting Cuba during the semester and will be participating in one of the tutorials. Other PC professors also will be visiting Cuba during the semester, supported by funds from the Reynolds Foundation. PC professors of biology Jim Stidham and Jim Wetzel, with the support of Reynolds funds, visited Cuba in May and had an opportunity to explore the coral reefs of Cuba and to meet with professors of the Center for Marine Research of the University of Havana. As a result of the visit, one student will be taking a tutorial in scientific diving offered by the Center for Marine Research.
McKelvey explained that the goal of the program is to provide students with a foundation for responsible global citizenship, focusing on developing an understanding of fundamental facts about the modern world and consciousness of contemporary global issues. The program includes reflection on Cuban history and the Cuban Revolution, as well as such present-day developments as the emergence of the Alternative World Movement in the nations of the Third World, the appearance of several revolutionary governments in Latin America, the process of Latin American integration and union, and the renewal of the Non-Aligned Movement.
"These are extremely important international developments, yet they are marginalized and treated superficially by public discourse in the United States," McKelvey said, adding that his students from PC are, on the other hand, very willing to engage in important discussions.
"I am very pleased with the maturity that the students have displayed during their first week in Cuba, "
he said. "And they ask serious questions about important themes, which facilitates their learning. Maturity is important, because they will face many challenges in the next four months."
In the fall of 2007, four PC students participated in the inaugural semester of the Presbyterian College/University of Havana Semester in Cuba Program - Mark Logan, Olivia Blakely Caswell, Alison McCullough, and Sarah Cairatti.
"I feel fortunate to be able to live here for the next four months and embrace the opportunities that PC has made available to us," said Mange.
Anyone who would like more information on the Semester in Cuba Program may contact Charles McKelvey at cemck@presby.edu.
Related Links