US-Cuba Reations: Before and Beyond the Cold War
Thursday, April 23, 6pm, HS7, Humanities Building
Dr. Raúl Rodriguez from the University of Havana came to the University of Innsbruck on Thursday, April 24, 2015 for a talk on “U.S.-Cuba Relations – Before and Beyond the Cold War.” In a short summary of 30 minutes, Dr. Rodriguez gave insight into the political developments from a Cuban perspective. Although there was only limited time, he managed to keep the talk highly informative. He focused on the positive future outlooks. “[T]his is the most serious attempt to normalize relations in 55 years,” he stated, admitting that although the signs for a change in bilateral affairs had been tangible, he had not anticipated the gravity and hugeness of the signals both Presidents are sending. In the following Q&A session, the students, professors, and others from the audience asked questions which lead to a nice discussion on the future of Cuba, including the way the nation will have to change, the impact of Netflix and the internet, and other aspects. In total 64 people had made their way to the lecture hall of the Humanities building on this Thursday night. The ACI hopes to cooperate with the ZIAS (Zentrum für interamerikanische Studien) more frequently on such talks.