Katz aims to form Wilson School task force in Cuba

Professor Stanley Katz wants to give Wilson School concentrators, whose academic careers often involve studying abroad, the opportunity to travel to the nearby nation. The U.S. government has imposed strict restrictions on travel to the country since the 1960s.

Katz’s proposed task force would send junior Wilson School concentrators to La Universidad de la Habana beginning in February 2010. Princeton is currently finalizing an agreement with the university that would permit the program’s implementation.

Katz has long maintained an interest in Cuba and has worked since 1997 to build “academic and cultural bridge programs” between the United States and Cuba.

He said the program’s format would parallel existing Wilson School task forces. Students would take courses at the host university, while a Cuban academic would lead the task force “on some public policy problem relating to Cuba and the region,” he said in an e-mail.

Katz acknowledged that there could be some issues with independent work, as classes would be taught in Spanish while students would write their junior papers in English.

But this may be a minor obstacle when compared to the larger challenges of sending students to Cuba.

The United States has enforced a trade embargo with Cuba since 1963, and travel to the Caribbean nation has generally been limited to journalists and select professionals. U.S. citizens without special licenses issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury Department are prohibited from visiting and studying in Cuba. Undergraduates must be enrolled to study in a Cuban university for a period of at least 10 weeks to be granted licenses.

Still, studying in Cuba is not unprecedented. Harvard, Brown, Sarah Lawrence College and other institutions already have established programs on the island.

Katz said he believes the proposed task force can overcome governmental restrictions and hopes that the Obama administration will facilitate travel to Cuba, marking a shift from the restrictive Clinton and Bush policies in that area.

“[T]his year the political context finally seems favorable enough for such a program to succeed,” he said.

Katz anticipates strong student interest in the new program.

“This should appeal to the WWS juniors interested in Latin America, but also to students who want to experience life in a Communist state – there are not many options for that experience these days!” he said.

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The proposed task force has already had a positive reception among students.

Mark Jia ’10 called the program a “fantastic idea,” explaining that he believes an academic relationship between Cuban and American universities would parallel the Obama administration’s more open policy towards Cuba.