NEW ALBANY, IN, (May 25, 2012) – Sixteen Indiana University Southeast students and two professors will travel to Cuba this summer as part of a study abroad opportunity.

The three-week trip is the capstone of the Cuba in Transition course taught by IU Southeast Professor of Political Science Cliff Staten. The trip begins Friday, June 1.

Students will study all aspects of Cuba including the island’s history, politics, economy, society, culture, and foreign relations. They will visit five Cuban cities including Havana, Santiago, and Santo Domingo. They will also tour historical sites including the Bay of Pigs, Ernest Hemingway’s home, and the birthplace of Fidel Castro.

After teaching Latin American politics at IU Southeast for more than two decades, Staten noticed a high level of student interest in revolutionary Cuba. That interest, Staten’s return to full-time teaching after serving as dean for 12 years, and the ease in restrictions on travel to Cuba under the Obama administration combined to create the perfect time to visit the communist country. 

Students have spent three weeks at IU Southeast studying the country and its culture to prepare for the trip.

The IU Southeast group will be joined on their trip by a small contingent from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala. This is the first time that IU Southeast has taken a group of students to study abroad in Cuba.

“There’s a Cuban saying that when you visit Cuba, you see what you want to see,” Staten said. “The reality is always somewhere in the middle. I hope to show our students that it’s much more Technicolor than black and white.”