Environmental History of Cuba: Prehistory to the Present

Catalog description

This course, offered in Havana, Cuba, is designed to introduce students to the environmental history of the country, from the pre-history to present. Among the core topics examined are the social, economic and environmental impacts of sugar, tobacco and coffee cultivation, the relationships between animal husbandry and deforestation, and the history of foreign tourism and its environmental implications. The course closes with an examination of the "Special Period" in Cuba beginning in 1989, and the rise of organic and urban agriculture in Cuba. In order to take this course, students must be degree seeking and it must count towards their degree.