About CRI

To accomplish its mission, the CRI develops academic programs in a wide range of areas:

• Support for faculty and graduate student research



• Organization of conferences, seminars, lectures and symposia



• Community outreach through the sponsorship of events (lectures, exhibitions, etc.) of special interest to the community



• Facilitating the participation of faculty experts in public discussion, media coverage and public policy formulation on issues regarding Cuba and the Cuban-American community



• Enriching the educational experience offered to undergraduate and graduate students at the University, especially though the expansion of course offerings on Cuba or Cuban-Americans



• Nurturing the growth in the number of faculty at the University with expertise in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies



• Publications



• Making FIU an important international and national hub of scholarly activity in relation to Cuba and its diaspora



• Assisting in the development of the Cuba-related holdings and collections of the University Library

The CRI has four strategic themes which are emphasized in research, publications, and outreach activities:

Organization and Resources

The Cuban Research Institute is located in the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) of Florida International University. A nationally recognized center for the study of Latin America, with Title VI USDE support and an M.A. interdisciplinary program in Latin American Studies, LACC provides a supportive environment to the CRI, especially in terms of human resources and equipment. The CRI, however, has its own separate budget and staff and is administratively accountable to LACC’s director and the FIU Provost. The director of the CRI is Damián Fernández, professor of international relations. The associate director is Uva de Aragón, a poet, writer and humanities scholar with a PhD in Spanish from the University of Miami. The support staff is composed of an administrative assistant and two coordinators. LACC assigns one of its graduate assistants to the CRI, and the institute also employs undergraduate student assistants. The CRI Advisory Board is composed of FIU faculty members with an interest in Cuban and Cuban-American Studies. The Board meets every semester to hear a report from the director, review accomplishments, suggest new initiatives and projects, and approve goals and plans for the future. It represents the formal mechanism for faculty input and participation in the work of the CRI.

The CRI is a member institution of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research, a nationwide research organization bringing together scholars from a wide variety of disciplines to conduct policy-relevant research on Latinos. For more information go to http://www.nd.edu/~iuplr/.

Major Accomplishments

• Secured more than $2 million in external funds.



• Received a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study Latino civic engagement in Miami, Chicago, and Phoenix (in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame and Arizona State University)



• Inaugurated the following projects:
  
  
  1. Governance and Social Justice in Cuba: Past, Present, and Future: an international initiative co-sponsored by the Facultad Latinoamerica de Ciencias Sociales-Mexico and the Canadian Foundation for the Americas.
  
  
  
  2. Cultura al borde/Culture at the Edge: an artistic exchange program which highlights the work of marginalized Cuban and Cuban-American artists.
  
  
  
  3. The Cuba Forum: a series of policy-relevant discussions co-sponsored by the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy in 2004-2005 and by the Inter-American Dialogue in 2005-2007.
  
  
  
  4. Cuba Lecture Series: Inaugurated in September 2003, these lectures bring distinguished authors and scholars of Cuba to Miami.
  
  
  
  5. The Félix González-Torres Community Art Project: an arts education initiative designed to promote an artistic culture at the university and to honor the legacy of Cuban-American artist González-Torres.



• Launched the CRI-University Press of Florida Cuba Series with Cuba Transnational, edited by CRI Director Damián Fernández



• Awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Resident Fellowship Program in the Humanities. In 1994-1998, the program brought 14 scholars from various countries, including Cuba, to FIU for one-semester fellowships on the program theme: "Island and Diaspora: National Identity, Sovereignty, and Reconciliation in the 21st Century."



• Won a national competition for the editorship of Cuban Studies in 2000-2004. Published by the University of Pittsburgh Press, the journal has been the leading publication in its field for more than 25 years.



• Hosts the most important national and international conference in the field of Cuban and Cuban-American studies, attracting hundreds of scholars representing a wide range of fields and scholarly interests.



• Developed a national and international reputation as a pioneer research center in the development of collaborative academic ties with Cuba. Dozens of Cuban scholars, writers and artists have visited FIU to give lectures, work collaboratively with our faculty and conduct their own research.



• Supported FIU faculty and graduate student research in Cuba.



• Hosts numerous seminars and conferences, sometimes resulting in edited publications, as well as lectures and other programs intended as outreach to the local community.



• Established an undergraduate Certificate Program in Cuban and Cuban-American studies.



• Developed a Cuban Studies track for the Master of Arts in Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

About CRI

Mission Statement

What's New

Academic Programs

Events

CRI Faculty Advisory Board

Cuban and Cuban American Studies Faculty

Conferences on Cuban and Cuban American Studies

CubaInfo Website

CRI Archives

Cuba Forum

Cuba Studies Series

Cuban Living History

Cuban Music

Student Research

Faculty Research


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Help Hurricane Victims

FIU Cuba Polls

- 2007 Cuba Poll
- 2004 Cuba Poll
- 2000 Cuba Poll
- 1997 Cuba Poll