Brown is pleased to announce a new semester-length program in Cuba for Fall 2008 that will provide students with an unparalleled opportunity to examine, firsthand, the key political, social, economic and cultural issues affecting this island nation and its Caribbean and Latin American neighbors. Based in Havana, the program encourages participating students to immerse themselves in the host country, taking in lectures from recognized experts on key issues facing the country and interacting with peers who share their intellectual curiosity about Cuba’s past, present and future.

The program ensures that Brown students will return to Providence with an invigorated sense of inquiry, a better calibrated crticial understanding of the complex situation facing Cuba today, and a wealth of newfound knowledge obtained precisely because of their in-country learning experiences.

The Center for Latin American Studies, the Cuban Task Force and the Office of International Programs believe that now is an opportune moment for Brown to be one of a very small handful of US universities operating in Cuba. Two thousand and nine will mark the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution and the country is at a critical crossroad. With one of the longest running socialist experiments in history, Cuba’s political and economic spheres have long been subjects of interest and debate in academic circles and beyond, but never more so than now. It remains to be seen just how these spheres will evolve but, if the past is a guide, they may very likely continue to defy conventional analysis.

Brown's principle institutional partner is Casa de Las Américas ("Casa"), the Cuban government's premier research institution. Casa is formally affililated with the University of Havana.