Cultural diplomacy consistently improves relations. Direct, peaceful contact encourages groups to see each other not as stereotypes, but as complex people with common concerns and unique achievements.
Cuba and Russia make for excellent case studies in cultural diplomacy. Their music, literature, and art has extended far beyond their borders, entering the international canons for these forms of human expression. While both might be cast in critical lights for their politics, they are almost always revered for thier cultures.
You will visit both Cuba and Russia to better understand this phenomenon. You will participate in classroom discussions as well as a hands-on cultural exploration of Havana and St. Petersburg. You will better understand the cultures, languages, and histories of these lands as well as how their cultural projections continue to affect the image abroad of these two countries that have played strategic and often interrelated roles in US foreign policy.
Tuition, accommodation, Russian visa and registration, pre-departure information, roundtrip airport transfers, cultural programming, health and emergency insurance, use of a mobile telephone while in Russia, and SRAS in-country support.
