What does international education look like during a pandemic, especially between nations—the U.S. and Cuba—where political borders are as difficult to traverse in digital space as in physical space? These questions arose among members of Hampshire’s Cuba Exchange Program when it became clear that we would not be able to run the 22-year-old semester-long program, Hampshire in Havana, in Spring 2021. In response, we decided to experiment with ways to digitally connect with our community partners in Havana, thus developing our own practices of internationalism, solidarity, and mutual aid in troubled times. The result was an intensive 3-week January Term 2021 seminar called “La Habana Virtual: intercambio y conversación en la pandemia.” This virtual seminar featured a combination of asynchronous presentations and synchronous conversations—using Zoom and What's App—with intellectuals, educators, activists, performers, filmmakers, and artists living and working in Cuba.

Below you will find a showcase of the videos we made as the backbone of the course, as well as the interactive Storymap our January 2021 students made in collaboration with partners in Cuba. English translations by Aidan Peacock and Roberto García.

-Michele Hardesty, 2021 director, Hampshire in Havana Program