Study abroad in Havana, Cuba, on a unique, transformative, and self-driven program.
View Spring 2019 Study Abroad Student Reflections
Watch Dylan Fitzwater's Study Abroad Video
This program presents students with the unique opportunity to study abroad in Havana, Cuba. Past students describe the program as genuine, rigorous, and independently driven. Working with the Hampshire faculty director and renowned Cuban writers, historians, visual artists, performance artists, or musicians as their tutors, participants are able to pursue their own set of academic goals through an independent study project they design and implement throughout the semester. The video below offers perspectives about the Hampshire in Havana experience from four of the program's tutors in 2018.
Listen to Cuba Tutors' Perspectives
Hampshire works in partnership with the Fundación Alejo Carpentier (FAC) in Havana, Cuba. The Fundación Alejo Carpentier, based in Havana, continues the vision of its namesake by creating an academic and cultural space in Havana for global scholars and practitioners. Hampshire College’s connection to this institution allows students to receive independent scholarly guidance and project supervision from Cuba’s most prominent intellectuals and artists, called tutores:
For more information about the Alejo Carpentier Foundation and other collaborating partners, please visit Our Partners in Cuba.
Photo by Nicola Chavez-Courtright 08F, Spring 2012 Program Participant
Led by a Hampshire faculty-in-residence, Hampshire in Havana allows students to spend three months taking Spanish courses tailored to their individual levels and a class about the dynamic cultural, social, and historical landscapes of Cuba. These classes inform independent research projects that students carry out with Cuban tutors, or mentors, over the course of the semester.
Students are also required to participate in a Spanish class, a formal course on Cuba and Cuban culture, co-taught by Hampshire and Cuban faculty, and a seminar designed to support the students’ projects and their process. These courses help students assimilate the Cuban experience into their semester projects by providing opportunities for more in depth cultural integration.
Rather than take on the traditional classroom approach, students work in conjunction with their tutors to design and execute a semester-long independent study project during which they are engaged in a wide range of activities that may include historical research, ethnographic field work, arts performance or practice, literary study, or archival work, among others. Through participation in this program, Hampshire College's tradition of individualized work and collaboration with advisors is sustained. Via a series of meetings, students exchange their ideas, discoveries, and developments with their tutors' feedback, thus enriching their studies with the invaluable point of view of experienced scholars.
Over the years, student projects have encapsulated the breadth and depth of Cuban culture and realities. Sample projects include:
Housing is arranged for students in “Casas Particulares,” home stays managed by Cuban families. Students can request to live independently or with other students. All housing options are centrally located in the iconic Vedado neighborhood of Havana.
Students are provided breakfast and dinner. Students receive a living stipend to help cover other food and living expenses
Havana Street Scene
Program costs cover Cuban insurance, visa fees, and occasional excursions. The tuition fees generated go directly to helping the Foundation restore Carpentier’s personal library, publish books, grant scholarships to Cuban researchers, and supply its offices with better equipment to facilitate its ongoing work. Hampshire Exchange Fees and Financial Aid provides detailed information on the fee policy, withdrawal policy, and how financial aid may apply.
Contact the GEO program manager:
Katie Irwin
413.559.5542
kirwin@hampshire.edu
If you would like to learn more about the academic content and options for studying abroad in Cuba, please contact one of these faculty members:
Margaret Cerullo
Professor of Sociology
School of Critical Social Inquiry
413.559.5514
mcerullo@hampshire.edu
Michele Hardesty
Professor of U.S. Literatures/Cultural Studies
School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies
413.559.5490
mlhHA@hampshire.edu
Flavio Risech
Professor of Law and Ethnic Studies
School of Critical Social Inquiry
413.559.5504
frisech@hampshire.edu
Roosbelinda Cárdenas
Professor of Anthropology and Latin American Studies
School of Critical Social Inquiry
413.559.5409
rcCSI@hampshire.edu
Carollee Bengelsdorf
Professor Emerita of Politics
School of Critical Social Inquiry
413.559.5402
cbengelsdorf@hampshire.edu
Jacqueline Hayden
Professor Emerita of Film and Photography
School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies
413.559.5617
jhayden@hampshire.edu