Rich and poor, white and black, free and slave: The social history of Cuba's tobacco farmers, 1763--1817

Tobacco was of primary importance to Spain, and its impact on Cuba's economy and society was greater than just the numbers of farms, workers, or production, demonstrated by the Spanish crown's outlay of monies for capital assets, bureaucrats' salaries, and payments to farmers for their crop. This study is a micro- and macro-level study of rural life in colonial Cuba and the interconnected relationships among society, agricultural production, state control, and the island's economic development. ^ By placing Cuba's tobacco farmers at the forefront of this social history, this work revisits and offers alternatives to two prevailing historiographical views of rural Cuba from 1763 (the year Havana returned to Spanish control following the Seven Years' War) to 1817 (the final year of the 100-year royal monopoly on Cuban tobacco). Firstly, it argues against the primacy of sugar over other agricultural crops, a view that has shaped decades of scholarship, and challenges the thesis which maintains the Cuban tobacco farmer was almost exclusively poor, white, and employed free labor, rather than slaves, in the production of their crop. ^ This study establishes the importance of tobacco as an agricultural product, and argues that Cuban tobacco growers were a heterogeneous group, revealing the role that its cultivation may have played in helping some slaves earn their freedom. ^

Landscape of fear: A social history of the missile during the early years of the Cold War, 1950–1965

The missile's significance has been central to national security since the Soviet launching of Sputnik, and became increasingly important throughout the years of the Cold War. Much has been written about missile technology, but little has been written about how the development and deployment of this weapon affected Americans. The missile was developed to both deter war but also to win war. Its presence, however, was not always reassuring. Three areas of the United States are studied to evaluate the social implications of the missile during these pivotal years: San Francisco, home of multiple Nike installations; of Cape Canaveral, Florida, the nation's primary missile test center; the Great Plains, the location of the largest ICBM concentration in the country. Interviews were conducted, tours of facilities were taken, and local newspapers were reviewed. In conjunction with national newspapers and magazines and public opinion polls, this information provided a local social context for missile history. Nationally and locally, Americans both feared and praised the new technology. They were anxious for government funding in their cities and often felt that the danger the missile brought to their communities by making it as a Soviet target was justified in the larger cause for national security.

Landscape of fear : a social history of the missile during the early years of the cold war, 1950-1965

The missile's significance has been central to national security since the Soviet launching of Sputnik, and became increasingly important throughout the years of the Cold War. Much has been written about missile technology, but little has been written about how the development and deployment of this weapon affected Americans. The missile was developed to both deter war but also to win war. Its presence, however, was not always reassuring. Three areas of the United States are studied to evaluate the social implications of the missile during these pivotal years: San Francisco, home of multiple Nike installations; of Cape Canaveral, Florida, the nation's primary missile test center; the Great Plains, the location of the largest ICBM concentration in the country. Interviews were conducted, tours of facilities were taken, and local newspapers were reviewed. In conjunction with national newspapers and magazines and public opinion polls, this information provided a local social context for missile history. Nationally and locally, Americans both feared and praised the new technology. They were anxious for government funding in their cities and often felt that the danger the missile brought to their communities by making it as a Soviet target was justified in the larger cause for national security.

Ecological correlates of successful colonization in the life history of the Cuban treefrog, {\it Osteopilus septentrionalis\/} (Anura: Hylidae)

Ten correlates of successful colonization were tested and met in the life history of the Cuban treefrog in Florida and the Caribbean. Like many successful colonizing species of animals, the Cuban treefrog was highly fecund; reproduction was possible at a small body size in males (27.0 mm) and females (45.0 mm), and large females could lay large clutches and eggs throughout the year. Generation times were short in this species thereby accelerating the colonization process. Tadpoles and post-metamorphic individuals could exploit a wide range of physical conditions with respect to weather conditions and structure of the habitat. The Cuban treefrog occupied the terrestrial-arboreal niche which was only marginally exploited by other species in Florida. Habitat preference of the Cuban treefrog was for mesophytic forests and disturbed areas, and both habitats were found in native and introduced ranges. The ability to coexist with man further enabled the Cuban treefrog to expand its geographic range. A broad diet enabled the Cuban treefrog to exploit a wide range of prey species and sizes thereby alleviating an important constraint to colonization success. The Cuban treefrog was gregarious and vagile, thereby accelerating the process of dispersal which is crucial to the colonization process. Thus, many features in its life history enabled the Cuban treefrog to rapidly disperse and colonize, often in high population densities, many kinds of sites in its native and introduced range. Conformity to these correlates by the Cuban treefrog ultimately provides predictive power regarding the future colonization of this tropical frog. ^

Donde esten mis hijos alli que me entierren. the migration history of Aura Lila Callejas

"Adonde esten mis hijos alli que me entierren," presents the migration history of my great-aunt Aura Lila Callejas. This work utilizes the oral history method to examine one woman's migration experience in an attempt to identify various theoretical issues. Aura Lila's immigration experience sheds light on a number of different issues, including the reasons why people migrate and how they adapt to an entirely new and often frightening set of circumstances in the country of arrival. The oral history method has proven useful in presenting some of the ways in which structural factors combine with personal motivations to provide the impetus for Aura Lila's journey of international migration. My work with Aura Lila has also served to highlight some of the existing gaps in the current literature regarding Nicaraguans in the United States and the importance of the family within the overall process of migration. Finally, this work explores the nature of the relationship between the researcher and subject within the ethnographic process. While much of Aura Lila's story remains unique and specific to her family's history, her narrative can be related to the growing body of literature focusing on women's life histories.

The Influence of the Guatemalan Municipal Orchestra's Curriculum on the Social Relations of its Members

The purpose of this case study is to determine the influence of the curriculum used by the Guatemalan Municipal Orchestra (GMO) upon the social interactions of its members. Social interactions include relations with families, teachers, and music colleagues. To determine this influence, the researcher framed the study using three main components: the impact of music in the development of children’s social skills; the curricula forming educational processes; and the characteristics of the Venezuela musical program, El Sistema. These foundations are explored via the tenets of participatory literacy. The data collection included interviews, surveys, and observation of students, parents, teachers, and administrative personnel. Two primary themes emerged from the data analysis: the development of a sense of community and the presence of intrinsic and external motivators implicit in the GMO environment. The final analysis suggests that curricular practices in the GMO positively influenced the development of students’ social interactions.