History of US-Cuba Relations Video and Discussion Guide

Dr. Ernesto Domínguez López is a professor of history at the University of Havana, Cuba, and was a Tinker Visiting Professor at Stanford University. In this 22-minute video, he discusses the history of relations between the United States and Cuba from the early 1800s until today.

A free classroom-friendly discussion guide and transcript for this video is available for download on the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) site. 

Students prepare for the video by reviewing relevant historical documents and a map of Cuba. They then take notes on the video and research the eras of U.S.–Cuba relations that Dr. Domínguez López identifies before looking more closely at how the United States was involved in key events in Cuba’s history. The unit ends with a full-class debate on whether Cuba was wise to ally with the Soviet Union after the 1959 Cuban Revolution. The discussion guide contains a complete transcript of the video and is appropriate for advanced secondary students and university students.