image credit: http://www.granma.cu/Fotos%202011/diciembre/Alfa0047.jpg
The Cuban Literacy Campaign was remarkably successful. In 1961 Over 100,000 young students, over half of the them young women, volunteered to become Conrado Benitez Brigadistas, leaving home and traveling to the countryside to participate in the Literacy Campaign. In one year these young students taught over 700,000 Cubans to read and write. When a person learned to read and write, he or she wrote a letter to Fidel Castro. Now, each of these letters is housed at the National Literacy Museum, along with other documents and photographs from the Campaign. Through a graduate-level independent study project, I created a digital repository for the campaign by digitizing the museum's holdings and recording oral history interviews with former brigadista teachers.
Bibliography of the Cuban National Literacy Campaign of 1961
Abendroth, Mark. Rebel Literacy: Cuba’s National Literacy Campaign and Critical Global Citizenship. Duluth: Litwin Books, 2009. Electronic book.
Alfabeticemos: Manual para el alfabetizador. Gobierno Revolucionario Ministerio de Educación. Imprento Nacional de Cuba: 1961.
Bhola, H.S. Campaigning for Literacy. Paris: Unesco, 1984. Print.
“Campaña de alfabetización.” EcuRed.cu. Web 3 Nov 2011.
Carnoy, Martin, et al. Cuba’s Academic Advantage: Why Students in Cuba Do Better in School. Stanford: Stanford University, 2007. Print.
Castro, Fidel. History Will Absolve Me. Lyle Stuart, ed. New York: Fair Play for Cuba Committee. 1961. Print.
Coiro, Julie. Handbook of Research on New Literacies. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates/Taylor & Francis Group, 2008. Print.
Connerton, Paul. How Societies Remember. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Print.
“Cuban Literacy Campaign.” Wikipedia.org. Web. 3 Nov 2011.
Education in Cuba: 1961-1981. A Special Issue Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Cuba's National Literacy Campaign. Vol. 25, No. 3, Dec, 1981. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/stable/i40001584
“Evaluation Guide: Oral History Guidelines.” Oral History Association. 2000. Web. http://www.oralhistory.org/wiki/index.php/Evaluation_Guide
Fagen, Richard R. Cuba: The Political Content of Adult Education. Stanford: Stanford University, 1964. Print.
Fagen, Richard R. The Transformation of Political Culture in Cuba. Stanford: Stanford University, 1969. Print.
Gómez Buendía, Hernando, dir. Education in Latin American and the Caribbean: An Agenda for the Coming Century. 1998. Bogotá: United Nations Development Program, trans. 2000. Print.
Hawisher, Gail E. and Cynthia L. Selfe, eds. Global Literacies and the World-Wide Web. London: Routledge, 2000. Print.
Klein, Deborah. "Education as Social Revolution." Independent School 63.3 (2004): 38-47. Professional Development Collection. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=12641408&site=ehost-live
Kolovos, Andy. “Digital Audio Field Recording Equipment Guide.” Vermont Folklife Center. 2007. PDF. http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org/archive/vermont_folklife_center_audio_field_recording_equipment_guide.pdf
Kozol, Jonathan. Children of the Revolution: A Yankee Teacher in the Cuban Schools. New York: Delacorte, 1978. Print.
Labbo, Linda D., David Reinking, and Michael C. McKenna. “Technology and Literacy Education in the Next Century: Exploring the Connection between Work and Schooling.” Peabody Journal of Education. Vol. 73, no. ¾, 1998. JSTOR. Web. 12 Jan 2012. http://www.jstor.org.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/stable/40032860
Lenstra, Noah. “Community History Digitization: How-To Manual and Exercises.” eBlack Champaign-Urbana. Web. 3 Jan 2012. http://manual.eblackcu.net/wiki/Main_Page
MacDonald, Theodore. Making a New People: Education in Revolutionary Cuba. Vancouver: New Star Books. 1985. Print.
Manual Para El Alfabetizador. Habana, 1961. Print.
McCall, Cecelia. “Women and Literacy: The Cuban Experience.” Journal of Reading. Vol. 30, no. 4, Jan 1987. JSTOR. Web. 12 Jan 2012. http://www.jstor.org.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/stable/40032860
Meneses-Placeres, Grizly, and Maylín Frías-Guzmán. "La Alfabetización Informacional En Los Procesos Curriculares De Las Ciencias De La Información En Cuba (Information Literacy Processes in Information Science Curriculum in Cuba).” (Spanish). Revista Interamericana De Bibliotecologia. Vol 34, no. 1, Jan 2011. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts. Web. 12 Jan 2012.
Methods and Means Utilized in Cuba to Eliminate Illiteracy: Unesco Report. Havana: Editora Pedagogica, 1965. Print.
Moyer, Judith. “Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History.” Dohistory.org. 1993. Web. 3 Jan 2012. http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html
Oxford Handbook of Oral History. Donald A. Ritchie, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
Ritchie, Donald A. Doing Oral History: A Practical Guide. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.
Reporting on Cuba. Havana: Book Institute, 1967. Print.
Silva Correa, Yenia. "50th Anniversary of the Literacy Campaign, A lesson for history: Cuba totally eradicated illiteracy in just one year." 22 Dec 2011. Digital Granma International. http://www.granma.cu/ingles/cuba-i/22dic-ANNIVERSARY.html
“Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interview Guide.” Web. 8 Nov. 2011. PDF. http://www.folklife.si.edu/resources/pdf/interviewingguide.pdf
Suchlicki, Jaime. University Students and Revolution in Cuba, 1920-1968. Coral Gables: University of Miami. 1969. Print.
Supko, Ruth A. Perspectives on the Cuban National Literacy Campaign. Latin American Studies Association. 1998. Web. 3 Nov 2011. http://lasa.international.pitt.edu/LASA98/Supko.pdf
Valdés Payo, Lilibeth. “Alfabetización informacional: una breve reflexión sobre el tema (Informational literacy: a brief reflection on the topic).” (Spanish). Acimed. Vol. 17, no. 2, Feb. 2008. EBSCO Host. Web. 12 Jan 2012. http://bvs.sld.cu/revistas/aci/vol17_2_08/aci06208.htm
Vos, Victor-Jan and Eric Ketelaar. “Amsterdam Communities’ Memories: Research into How Modern Media Can Be Applied to Archive Community Memory.” Constructing and Sharing Memory: Community Informatics, Identity and Empowerment. Larry Stillman and Graeme Johanson, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007. PDF.
Williams, Kate. "Literacy and computer literacy: Analyzing the NRC's 'Being Fluent with Information Technology.'" Journal of Literacy and Technology. Vol. 3, no. 1, Spring 2003. PDF. http://www.literacyandtechnology.org/volume3/literacy.pdf
Williams, Kate. Literacy and Computer Literacy: The Cuban Experience, Report on a Library Tour of Cuba, February-March 2001. Web. 17 Nov 2011. http://people.lis.illinois.edu/~katewill/cuba/
The Cuban Literacy Campaign was remarkably successful. In 1961 Over 100,000 young students, over half of the them young women, volunteered to become Conrado Benitez Brigadistas, leaving home and traveling to the countryside to participate in the Literacy Campaign. In one year these young students taught over 700,000 Cubans to read and write. When a person learned to read and write, he or she wrote a letter to Fidel Castro. Now, each of these letters is housed at the National Literacy Museum, along with other documents and photographs from the Campaign. Through a graduate-level independent study project, I created a digital repository for the campaign by digitizing the museum's holdings and recording oral history interviews with former brigadista teachers.
Bibliography of the Cuban National Literacy Campaign of 1961
Abendroth, Mark. Rebel Literacy: Cuba’s National Literacy Campaign and Critical Global Citizenship. Duluth: Litwin Books, 2009. Electronic book.
Alfabeticemos: Manual para el alfabetizador. Gobierno Revolucionario Ministerio de Educación. Imprento Nacional de Cuba: 1961.
Bhola, H.S. Campaigning for Literacy. Paris: Unesco, 1984. Print.
“Campaña de alfabetización.” EcuRed.cu. Web 3 Nov 2011.
Carnoy, Martin, et al. Cuba’s Academic Advantage: Why Students in Cuba Do Better in School. Stanford: Stanford University, 2007. Print.
Castro, Fidel. History Will Absolve Me. Lyle Stuart, ed. New York: Fair Play for Cuba Committee. 1961. Print.
Coiro, Julie. Handbook of Research on New Literacies. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates/Taylor & Francis Group, 2008. Print.
Connerton, Paul. How Societies Remember. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Print.
“Cuban Literacy Campaign.” Wikipedia.org. Web. 3 Nov 2011.
Education in Cuba: 1961-1981. A Special Issue Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Cuba's National Literacy Campaign. Vol. 25, No. 3, Dec, 1981. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/stable/i40001584
“Evaluation Guide: Oral History Guidelines.” Oral History Association. 2000. Web. http://www.oralhistory.org/wiki/index.php/Evaluation_Guide
Fagen, Richard R. Cuba: The Political Content of Adult Education. Stanford: Stanford University, 1964. Print.
Fagen, Richard R. The Transformation of Political Culture in Cuba. Stanford: Stanford University, 1969. Print.
Gómez Buendía, Hernando, dir. Education in Latin American and the Caribbean: An Agenda for the Coming Century. 1998. Bogotá: United Nations Development Program, trans. 2000. Print.
Hawisher, Gail E. and Cynthia L. Selfe, eds. Global Literacies and the World-Wide Web. London: Routledge, 2000. Print.
Klein, Deborah. "Education as Social Revolution." Independent School 63.3 (2004): 38-47. Professional Development Collection. Web. 3 Nov. 2011. http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=12641408&site=ehost-live
Kolovos, Andy. “Digital Audio Field Recording Equipment Guide.” Vermont Folklife Center. 2007. PDF. http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org/archive/vermont_folklife_center_audio_field_recording_equipment_guide.pdf
Kozol, Jonathan. Children of the Revolution: A Yankee Teacher in the Cuban Schools. New York: Delacorte, 1978. Print.
Labbo, Linda D., David Reinking, and Michael C. McKenna. “Technology and Literacy Education in the Next Century: Exploring the Connection between Work and Schooling.” Peabody Journal of Education. Vol. 73, no. ¾, 1998. JSTOR. Web. 12 Jan 2012. http://www.jstor.org.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/stable/40032860
Lenstra, Noah. “Community History Digitization: How-To Manual and Exercises.” eBlack Champaign-Urbana. Web. 3 Jan 2012. http://manual.eblackcu.net/wiki/Main_Page
MacDonald, Theodore. Making a New People: Education in Revolutionary Cuba. Vancouver: New Star Books. 1985. Print.
Manual Para El Alfabetizador. Habana, 1961. Print.
McCall, Cecelia. “Women and Literacy: The Cuban Experience.” Journal of Reading. Vol. 30, no. 4, Jan 1987. JSTOR. Web. 12 Jan 2012. http://www.jstor.org.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/stable/40032860
Meneses-Placeres, Grizly, and Maylín Frías-Guzmán. "La Alfabetización Informacional En Los Procesos Curriculares De Las Ciencias De La Información En Cuba (Information Literacy Processes in Information Science Curriculum in Cuba).” (Spanish). Revista Interamericana De Bibliotecologia. Vol 34, no. 1, Jan 2011. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts. Web. 12 Jan 2012.
Methods and Means Utilized in Cuba to Eliminate Illiteracy: Unesco Report. Havana: Editora Pedagogica, 1965. Print.
Moyer, Judith. “Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History.” Dohistory.org. 1993. Web. 3 Jan 2012. http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html
Oxford Handbook of Oral History. Donald A. Ritchie, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
Ritchie, Donald A. Doing Oral History: A Practical Guide. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.
Reporting on Cuba. Havana: Book Institute, 1967. Print.
Silva Correa, Yenia. "50th Anniversary of the Literacy Campaign, A lesson for history: Cuba totally eradicated illiteracy in just one year." 22 Dec 2011. Digital Granma International. http://www.granma.cu/ingles/cuba-i/22dic-ANNIVERSARY.html
“Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interview Guide.” Web. 8 Nov. 2011. PDF. http://www.folklife.si.edu/resources/pdf/interviewingguide.pdf
Suchlicki, Jaime. University Students and Revolution in Cuba, 1920-1968. Coral Gables: University of Miami. 1969. Print.
Supko, Ruth A. Perspectives on the Cuban National Literacy Campaign. Latin American Studies Association. 1998. Web. 3 Nov 2011. http://lasa.international.pitt.edu/LASA98/Supko.pdf
Valdés Payo, Lilibeth. “Alfabetización informacional: una breve reflexión sobre el tema (Informational literacy: a brief reflection on the topic).” (Spanish). Acimed. Vol. 17, no. 2, Feb. 2008. EBSCO Host. Web. 12 Jan 2012. http://bvs.sld.cu/revistas/aci/vol17_2_08/aci06208.htm
Vos, Victor-Jan and Eric Ketelaar. “Amsterdam Communities’ Memories: Research into How Modern Media Can Be Applied to Archive Community Memory.” Constructing and Sharing Memory: Community Informatics, Identity and Empowerment. Larry Stillman and Graeme Johanson, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007. PDF.
Williams, Kate. "Literacy and computer literacy: Analyzing the NRC's 'Being Fluent with Information Technology.'" Journal of Literacy and Technology. Vol. 3, no. 1, Spring 2003. PDF. http://www.literacyandtechnology.org/volume3/literacy.pdf
Williams, Kate. Literacy and Computer Literacy: The Cuban Experience, Report on a Library Tour of Cuba, February-March 2001. Web. 17 Nov 2011. http://people.lis.illinois.edu/~katewill/cuba/