A New No-Man's-Land

Join us for the presentation and discussion of Esther Whitfield's latest book, A New No-Man's-Land: Writing and Art at Guantánamo, Cuba (2024), with Esther Whitfield and Ingrid Brioso Rieumont.

Esther Whitfield, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies at Brown University, provides an acute perspective on the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo, Cuba. In her book, she reimagines the U.S. naval base and its surrounding areas in Eastern Cuba as a shared borderland—a region marked by a common natural environment, the isolation of its inhabitants, and a rich body of literature and art that prioritizes survival over political hostility. Whitfield explores how the art and literature emerging from this contested space offer new insights into the ideological, economic, and moral divide between the U.S. and Cuba.

Whitfield is a leading scholar in Cuban Studies whose groundbreaking work continues to redefine the field. Her first book, Cuban Currency (2008), reshaped the understanding of Cuban literature during the "Special Period," following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. A New No-Man's-Land builds on this pioneering work, examining the intersections of space, politics, and culture in contemporary Cuba.

This event offers a unique opportunity for our community to engage with cutting-edge scholarship on U.S.-Cuba relations, borders, and the power of art in shaping political realities. 

Thursday, May 1st

4:30 pm - 6:00 pm

Filene Auditorium