Classes and the Random Thoughts They Provoke

So as of today, we are already a week into classes. It’s pretty incredible how quickly every day passes by, yet at the same time I feel like it’s been eons since I got on the train in Philadelphia. Anyway, classes are going really well. My favorite is a two way-tie between Cuba in the 21^st Century and Cuban History through Film. The first class is amazing because we have a different professor for each class- if we are talking about health, a doctor teaches the class, and so on. I have lots of comments to make about that class already, but pretty much all of those are going in the “secret files”, to be mailed only on my departure from Cuba. That in itself is an intense experience- the fact that I need to be so concerned with what I write on my blog. And it’s not me myself that I worry about, it’s that I don’t want to bring the wrath of the government down on people here. And for all I know, the littlest comment could do that. So precautions seem like a good idea in this case.

Cuban History through Film has been great as well. The first movie we saw was called “The Last Supper”. The idea for this film came from the notes of a slave owner in the 1800s who decided, during Holy Week, to assume the part of Christ with his disciples. He chose twelve slaves, washed their feet, and ate dinner with them. I found this movie to be sumamente fascinating, in so many ways. I have to say, the course of studies that I have undertaken in the past five years has made me realize that I am fully a product of 20^th century Western thoughts and values. There have been many different triggers which made me see that; from this movie in particular it was the idea of slavery. It’s very hard for me to disengage myself from this day and age and try to imagine a time where you could think someone was inferior to you because they were different from you. Even more heinous then was the fact that slaveowners were using religion to reinforce the system and maintain their power. What I got from this movie was that the upperclass whites in those times (so the plantation owners as well as their overseers) essentially thought that they were born with these powers and these rights because of the color of their skin and the families into which they were born. It’s very akin to the idea that kings had their power through divine will. Divine meaning from the gods, so then you have this tie between power and religion. The slaveowners then taught slaves that they were born to work and serve the whites, and that by accepting this and working hard, they would make their way into heaven. The slaveowner in the movie also told his slaves that in heaven, everyone was equal and that there were no divisions between color or classes. This is a huge contradiction to my 20^th/21^st century mind- if equality exists in heaven, and everyone is eager to go to heaven, then why are you enslaving people instead of working towards recreating this ideal place here on Earth?

So this is also interesting because the church obviously had close ties to the slaveholders. It’s interesting to think, both here and in the southern United States, about those who are descended from slaves yet still are very devout in their religious beliefs? I would have assumed that there would be present more resentment of a religion that was complicit in the enslavement of their people. Then again, it is true that the problem with religions in general is the practicants of them who take things too far, and not necessarily the religion itself, so maybe that’s understandable.

The other thing that was fascinating to me was the slave rebellion that finally occurred at the end of the movie. Basically, the slaveowner was being two-faced. He told the slaves that they wouldn’t have to work on Easter, yet at the same time told the overseer to do “what was necessary” to boost production, which was an implicit permission to make the slaves work. Easter morning comes, and the overseer enters the barracks to send the slaves to the fields. Rebellion occurs, ending with the death of the overseer and the burning of the plantation. I understand that. What I don’t understand is how the whites didn’t see that it would come eventually. You know how people always say that unless we learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it? I think this is true. If you treat someone poorly, they won’t take it forever. Maybe this isn’t true on an individual basis, but in the long run with large groups of people I think it is. You can’t continue to oppress a people (and I don’t just mean slavery, this could be economic oppression, social oppression, lo que sea) and expect that negative consequences won’t come back to you in the end (cough, American foreign policy, cough).

So the other exciting thing relating to my classes is my decision on my Capstone project, pending approval from Prof. Jones at NU. I decided, after talking to Professor West-Duran and his wife, that I am going to research youth development in Cuba. This is pretty much perfect for me; it’s a great blend of my actual course of study at NU with what I actually want to go into as a career. I’m pretty excited about this, because in addition to the actual research, I’m going to do volunteer work with a youth development organization- we’re still working on what and where, but I can’t wait.