DEVS professor Karen Dubinsky and film professor Susan Lord were recognized for providing leadership in innovation and excellence in international education for their work on DEVS 306 Cuban Culture and Society.
As noted in the Queen's Journal article "The Cuban Culture and Society program is a course dedicated to teaching the history of Cuba from 1959 to the present, including social and cultural challenges, successes, and innovations. The course’s partnership with the University of Havana enables students to travel to Havana, Cuba to experience the city’s culture, art, music, architecture, and historic monuments. We bring filmmakers, artists, and musicians to the course when we’re in Havana,” Lord said.
The students are able to get a sense of both the history and current conversations that artists are having about their country and about their society. The program has also brought Cuban philosophers, historians, sociologists, filmmakers, and musicians to Canada to interact with the Queen’s community. “The work [our invited speakers] do tells us stories that are so moving, meaningful, and complicated,” Lord said. “[The speakers generate] so much questioning and discussion about what it means for them to live in Cuba, if that’s where they’re still living, but also what it means to tell the story and history of a country and a society that has been under radical transformation for so many years.”
Dubinsky and Lord say the Cuban Culture and Society program has significantly evolved thanks to the establishment of strong professional connections.
View the Queen's Journal Article