Dissertation Information for Joshua Henry Nadel NAME: - Joshua Henry Nadel
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- History
SCHOOL:
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (USA) (2007)
ADVISORS: - Louis A. Perez Jr.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - Michael H. Hunt - John C. Chaasten - Lars Schoultz - Kathyrn J. Burns
MPACT Status: Fully Complete
Title: Processing modernity: Social and cultural adaptation in eastern Cuba, 1902--1933
Abstract: Processing Modernity: Social and Cultural Adaptation in Eastern Cuba, 1902-1933 focuses on changes in society and culture in company towns in eastern Cuba. It examines how Cubans adapted to changes in the physical, social, and cultural landscape impelled by U.S.-based sugar companies in the first decades of the twentieth century. During the first republic, companies such as the United Fruit Company, Manatà Sugar Company, and the Cuba Company helped to develop the eastern interior into one of the most productive sugar regions in the world. Companies altered life in the interior by rationalizing landholding; modernizing infrastructure; bringing new attitudes about consumption, commerce, and gender; and importing new forms of recreation. These changes represented the extensive reach of U.S. influence. More importantly, the way that Cubans adapted to the new lifestyles and attitudes was essential to the development and redefintion of Cuba as a modern nation.
In showcasing conflicting Cuban attitudes about U.S. influence, this dissertation argues that many Cubans defined those influences that they saw as beneficial to the nation as modem and universal, while rejecting others as American. Throughout the early twentieth century, Cubans in the east showed their ability to discern between the cultural and social influences of North American sugar companies on the one hand, and the political and economic meddling of the United States on the other. This difference is crucial to understanding the seeming contradiction that allowed Cuba to apparently "Americanize" while being anti-American at the same time. The focus on the rural east, where U.S. influence was more pervasive than in other sections of Cuba, highlights the importance of the region to Cuban history as central to the formation of the nation. Far from being isolated villages, the towns established around sugar mills quickly became modern production centers with many of the amenities found in Havana and other large cities, and Cubans there rapidly adapted to new life styles and expectations. In turn, Cubans from the east, profoundly affected by the influence of the sugar companies, would have a major impact on the future of the nation.
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calculated 2009-04-12 17:20:30
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