The upcoming Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) Colloquium will feature the current state of relations between Cuba and the United States. The colloquium will be held Friday, February 20, 2015, from 1:00?2:20 p.m. in room 104 of the Franco Building. This event is open to the campus community and light refreshments will be served.
Dr. Kirk Shaffer, Associate Professor of Latin American Studies will present ?Contemporary Cuba ? US Relations.? Since the early 1960s, Cuba and the US have been in diplomatic war with one another. Following the collapse of the Soviet bloc over 20 years ago, those tensions continued. However, in December 2014, the governments in Washington and Havana announced plans to begin normalizing diplomatic relations. In this talk, Shaffer places Cuba ? US relations in historical context to understand the meaning, potentialities, and challenges facing these two countries today as they seek to bridge a diplomatic divide that is older than the majority of both Cubans and North Americans.
The HASS Colloquium Series features informal presentations that serve as opportunities for HASS faculty to share their completed or in-progress research. Faculty members discuss their research in presentations that welcomes dialogue, discussion, and questions. For more information on the HASS Colloquium Series, contact Michelle Mart, Associate Professor of History, at [email protected], or Marga Row, Coordinator of Grants & Proposals, at [email protected].