Having fought successfully in the War of Independence, Cuban men of African descent were claiming their share in the political representation of the new republic, founded in 1902 after a brief period of U.S. American occupation. Women, meanwhile, were aligning themselves across racial barriers to fight for the right to vote which they obtained in 1934. In this period, debates about race and citizenship were central to the formation of Cuban nationhood. Following Cuba’s national hero José Martí, the young republic aspired to be a “raceless nation”, but this visibly clashed with the political reality of race-based discrimination in fields such as education and access to jobs and government positions.

This seminar will trace the social and political developments in the new Cuban republic with a focus on the situation of its Black population. It will consider the intersections of race, class and gender in discourses of citizenship and look at international influences on these debates as ideas from the African continent and diaspora circulated across the globe.

This seminar is held in English, but the final term paper can be written in either German or English.