Pivot Point Politics: North Korea, Cuba, and the Decolonizing World - A Lecture by Eilin Perez '14-CANCELED

At the intersection of the Cold War and processes of decolonization, several states sought new ways to navigate the international arena. Following the 1959 Cuban Revolution, North Korea and Cuba forged a lasting bond—one that would influence international political dynamics beyond their own diplomatic relations. Balancing diplomatic archival sources with cultural artifacts from the second half of the twentieth century, this presentation will historicize the rhetorical, visual, and aural exchanges that signified relations between the two socialist countries.

Eilin Rafael Pérez ’14 is a History and Asian Studies double major from Flushing, Queens in New York City.  As part of the ‘Class of 1960 Scholars’ he wrote a thesis entitled The North Korean Mass Education System.  Chair and Professor of History, Anne Reinhardt was his Advisor. Currently, Eilin is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Chicago. For the 2019-2020 academic year he is serving as a Residential Fellow at the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture, and as co-coordinator of the Race and Pedagogy Working Group. His research and teaching focus on the cultural production that has emerged out of diplomatic relations between Korea and the decolonizing world. A recipient of the 2018-2019 CLIR Mellon Fellowship for Dissertation Research in Original Sources, he is also interested in exploring best practices for archival research and preservation. He is passionate about building collaborative support networks, teaching and learning through visual and oral storytelling, and expanding educational access to communities outside of traditional academic settings.