The
Cuban Revolution Online
Overview
This site is intended to be a long-term educational project,
to foster greater understanding of the Cuban Revolution through examination
of documents, sound and video files, photographs and images of revolutionary
participants and events, and analysis. I envision its inclusion in a Latin
American studies curriculum, although clearly it has applications in 20th
century American history, Cold War studies, and possibly in Latin American
history survey classes (and probably others we have never considered).
The Cuban Revolution is at the same time a political, social, and cultural
event, and to the extent possible, this site aims at education and informing,
rather than adopting or promoting any political or ideological perspective.
Initially more modest, the site will grow as more documents and files
are added. As well, the planned discussion function will allow interested
parties to exchange ideas and perspectives; topics will change and evolve
as participants interact. Finally, it will serve as a resource for those
instructors who need online access to documents or other primary sources.
Project Scope
The site relies on a home page to introduce the purpose of the site, and
uses a navigation bar to direct visitors to the area of their interest.
The site is divided into eight general navigational areas:
Chronology-For background purposes, visitors can learn about the key events
of the Revolution and link to documents, images, and other files that
explain those events.
Origins-Viewers can learn how events from as far back in history as 1898
had consequences well into the 20th century, and helped form conditions
that led to revolution in the 1950s.
Key figures-Visitors can read short biographical sketches about the six
primary participants in the Revolution: Fidel and Raul Castro, Che Guevara,
Fulgencio Batista, Camilo Cienfuegos, and Jose Marti. In addition to the
bios, the site has many photographs and documents, as well as audio versions
of speeches, film clips, and English and Spanish texts of important speeches.
Interpretations-The site offers academic interpretations from Latin American
scholars (both pro and con) of the goals, actions, and successes of the
Revolution.
Resources- Although sound, video, and photographic files will be available
through other pages as explained previously, they will also be collected
for convenience in one place. Additionally, visitors will find a collection
of outside links to document archive sites. Since Castro's government
used popular art (posters, billboards, murals) to spread revolutionary
messages and ideals to Cubans everywhere, the resources area also includes
several dozen examples of billboard art, revolutionary poster art, and
urban murals. It is both interesting and educational to see what messages
the new government was sending Cubans, and to explore why certain media
were utilized over others. The messages and the media tell us something
about the nature of the Revolution, as well as its goals and values.
Perspectives-To understand the wide range of Revolutionary experiences,
viewers can adopt one of six “identities,” (an American businessman
with business holdings in Cuba, an American government official, a Cuban
peasant, a Cuban businessperson, a Cuban supporter of Batista, and a Cuban
woman). The goal will be to portray the Revolution through those perspectives,
to see how events and policies would have affected them in Cuba.
Discussion-This function will allow those with an interest to post comments,
questions, or observations about the Revolution or the site, as well as
respond to other comments. As the Revolution peaked only about 45 years
ago, it is possible that participants may be part of the discussion.
This site will not be a true archive. It will only include some of documents
available (and would not benefit, therefore, from a search engine). Likewise,
it will not be a collection of every file that has anything to do with
Cuba, but rather a collection of relevant sources that further understanding
of the origins, events, and consequences of the Cuban Revolution. Return
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HIST 696,
Clio Wired: An Introduction to History and New Media
HIST 697,
Creating Digital History