Architecture, Design and Culture in Cuba
This program will be offered over winter break 2025. Dates are December 28, 2024 - January 18, 2025.
- Experience Cuba at this historically important time
- Visit historical and culturally significant sites in Havana, Las Terrazas, Matanzas, Santa Clara, Trinidad and Cienfuegos
- Travel through the picturesque rural Cuban landscape
- No language experience required
The times they are a-changin’. With President Obama’s December 2014 announcement of renewing relations with Cuba and with the reopening of the U.S. embassy after 54 years, a new era has dawned on the Caribbean island. This small country that played a major role in the Cold War is a shell of its former glory. Everywhere are reminders of its former connections with the U.S. and later with the Soviet Union. Today’s post-Fidel Cuba is a country that wants to rebuild and reconnect with the outside world.
In this our seventh offering of the program, we will explore the history and culture of the changing Cuba. Activities will highlight Havana’s, as well as Santa Clara, Trinidad and Cienfuegos’, uniqueness and character. Participants will research how our perceived ideas of Cuba, developed through media (news, books, films, TV, tourism advertising, and propaganda), compare with the reality of place. We will study architecture, design and culture through city tours, museum visits, and adventures with locals in Cuba.
Havana, Cuba: Intoxicatingly colorful, deeply intriguing, Cuba is a place like no other. The culture of Cuba is a complex mixture of different, often contrasting, factors and influences. Cuba is a meeting point of European, African, Chinese, and continental North American cultures. Since 1959, the Cuban Revolution has also greatly affected Cuban culture, down to the most basic aspects of daily life. Cuba’s capital and largest city, Havana, is central in any discussion of the island. Founded by the Spanish in the 16th century, today’s Havana has three distinct areas: Old Havana, Vedado, and the city suburbs. Each area has its own distinct style of architecture and urban feel.
Las Terrazas and Santa Clara, Cuba: Following Havana, students will explore Las Terrazas, a biosphere reservation and unique community of artists, coffee growers and foresters and then travel to Santa Clara. Santa Clara is a beautiful city in Central Cuba which houses the mausoleum of Che Guevara and is a significant site of revolutionary history in Cuba.
Trinidad and Cienfuegos, Cuba: Located on Cuba’s southern coast, southeast of Havana and near the Escambray Mountains, Trinidad is an open-air museum of colonial architecture and city planning. It is also a significant city in the history of the Cuban sugar industry, Afro-Cuban culture, and the roots of the Santeria religion. In 1988 this small city was recognized as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites. Cienfuegos, known as Cuba’s Pearl of the South, is a beautiful port city with a distinctive French cultural influence.
Students will enroll in one or both of the following courses:
- Required course: ADS 532 Design and Culture in Cuba (3 credits)
- Optional course: ADS 533 Study Abroad Documentation (3 credits)
ADS 532 Design and Culture in Cuba (3 credits)
Studio course where students will observe, take note and document the architecture, design, art, and culture of Cuba. Prior to departure each student will choose several subjects to research and observe while abroad. Subjects can include anything that is part of everyday life in both cities. Students will document their subjects by collecting images, making sketches and writing observations. A book and exhibition featuring each students’ collections will be produced to document this experience.
ADS 533 Study Abroad Documentation (3 credits)
This course includes relevant assigned research topics to be completed during the second half of the spring semester upon return from travel. Documentation of the travel experience itself will satisfy the rest of the requirements for credit. In a photographic and literary journal of the trip, students will keep notes, reflections and visual information for evaluation by the instructors.
In advance of travel, KU students will be expected to attend presentations and discussions in order to become acquainted with the history and culture of Cuba. Students will be given a variety of research assignments to prepare prior to travel. Assigned readings and videos to watch will also be included in this prep work. While abroad, mandatory attendance is required at all scheduled visits and programmatic activities.
In Cuba, participants will stay in casas particulares (bed and breakfast accommodations in a private home). Rooms are double or triple occupancy. Several group lunches and dinners are also included.
In Miami, participants will stay in triple and quad occupancy hotel rooms in Miami Beach. Breakfast is not included in Miami however several nearby coffee and dining options are available.
Havana: While in Cuba, participants will explore historic sites, and see architecture (Colonial, Art Deco, Mid-Century Modern), participate in cultural activities as well as connect with Cuban designers, photographers, and students. Participants will explore La Habana Vieja (old Havana), visit the Museo de la Revolución, Monumento a Jose Marti, and eat at some of Havana’s best small restaurants. Additionally, participants will visit Las Terrazas, an eco-friendly community of artists and coffee growers.
Trinidad and Cienfuegos: Participants will tour the colonial architecture of Trinidad, meet with University of Cienfuegos faculty and students, visit sugar barons' castles, and experience AfroCuban culture.
SAGE is dedicated to creating international engagement opportunities that meet the needs of all our students and providing resources to support you through the process of studying abroad. Before selecting a program, consider how your identities may impact your experience abroad in unique ways and talk with your Program Coordinator about any program-specific concerns. Students with documented disabilities should discuss any accommodation needs with their Program Coordinator early in the planning process.
Check our Identity Abroad page and resources listed below for information specific to you and other students who may be on your program.
Open to all undergraduate or graduate degree-seeking students from any accredited U.S. college or university. Priority will be given to KU design and architecture students. Minimum 2.5 GPA required (exceptions considered after submission of a petition).
Tim Hossler As the former in-house art director for photographer Annie Leibovitz, Tim helped Ms. Leibovitz create her most memorable images, books and exhibitions of the late 90’s through the early 2000’s. Tim holds a degree in Architecture from Kansas State University (1993) and a MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art (2005). He was the Director of Design at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) and the Art Director of The Wolfsonian–Florida International University in Miami Beach before coming to KU in 2011. Tim is currently Chair of the Department of Design and an associate professor of Visual Communications. In addition to teaching he continues to work with artists, photographers and cultural institutions to create visual narratives. In 2012 he collaborated with British fashion photographer Tim Walker and art director Ruth Ansel to create Walker's book and exhibition Story Teller.
For More Information Contact:
Tim Hossler, Chair and Associate Professor
Design Department, School of Architecture and Design
Office 136 Marvin Studios
hossler@ku.edu