Unexpected Connection
Search for Knowledge in Cuba Leads Ohio Wesleyan Professors, Students Back to Delaware
DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University professors and students traveling to Cuba for OWU Connection-related learning experiences have found an unexpected hometown link.
Professors Christopher Fink and Liz Nix, both in the Department of Health and Human Kinetics, took a group of students to Cuba in August and will be returning in March with Professor Eva Paris-Huesca of the Department of World Languages and Cultures.
But first, Fink, who also directs OWU's Public Health Program, will moderate a conversation with Delaware, Ohio, resident and writer Rebe Huntman, whose debut full-length book, "My Mother in Havana: A Memoir of Magic & Miracle," was released this month. The event will begin at 6 p.m. March 5 at the main branch of the Delaware County District Library, 84 E. Winter St. Reservations are requested via Eventbrite.
Ohio Wesleyan's VIVA student group, which seeks to foster an understanding of Latin American cultures and issues, will lead a craft and serve as disc jockeys playing music before the conversation with Huntman begins at 6:30 p.m. Cuban-inspired food will be provided by downtown Delaware's Cocinamos Bakery + Bistro, and books will be available for purchase through Beanbag Books.
Huntman describes herself as "[o]bsessed with all things Cuba, with artists who defy convention to forge their own path, and with creating beauty from the unpredictability of our lives." In her new book, she writes about her role as a grieving daughter who "finds her way back to her mother – 30 years after her death – among the gods and ghosts and saints of Cuba."
Reviews for "My Mother in Havana" include OWU alumna and New York Times bestselling author Maggie Smith '99 proclaiming, "I closed this book believing more than ever that the people we love, including the people we've been, never really leave us."
Fink says he is pleased to lead the upcoming conversation with Huntman, whose memoir "does a wonderful job of describing Cuban culture, spirituality, and more" and who visited Ohio Wesleyan recently to talk to the students who will visit Cuba in March.
They will be traveling as part of an OWU Connection Travel-Learning Course. This experience combines a semester in the classroom with a short professor-led travel experience intended to enhance their book learning with in-person, on-the-ground experiences.
Nix and Paris-Huesca's class, "Global Food Systems," will visit Havana and other locations in Cuba, and is "designed to develop system thinking and apply these skills to food systems studies, particularly in the U.S. and Cuba."
"The food system plays a crucial role in various fields, including public health, nutrition, social justice, and environmental studies," the professors state. "Understanding the food system is central to gaining perspective on various concerns, such as climate change, food security, workers' rights, and nutritional status, and to understanding the range of determinants of such concerns."
Fink is traveling with the group to continue research begun during his August visit, supported by an OWU Connection Theory-to-Practice Grant. He will work with student Amarilys Torres-Nuñez '25, who also traveled to Cuba in the fall. They will continue exploring how food practices among Cubans and Cuban migrants reflect Cuban identity and the various social, economic, and political forces that followed the Cuban Revolution.
Ohio Wesleyan's OWU Connection program is a foundational part of the university's academic program designed to ensure that all students graduate with hands-on experience and a global perspective.
Learn more about the Department of Health and Human Kinetics at owu.edu/HHK, the Public Health Program at owu.edu/PublicHealth, and the Department of World Languages and Cultures at owu.edu/WLC. Explore the OWU Connection at owu.edu/connection and read about Huntman and her work at www.rebehuntman.com.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation's premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature experience, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to understand issues from multiple academic perspectives, volunteer in service to others, build a diverse and global perspective, and translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book "Colleges That Change Lives" and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review "Best Colleges" lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.