Dr. Reinaldo Funes-Monzote visits TCU to discuss Environmental History in Latin America and the Caribbean

In April 2023, internationally renowned scholar Dr. Reinaldo Funes-Monzote visited TCU to share his research on the history of livestock in Latin America and the Caribbean region, while exploring the links between cattle ranching in Texas and Cuba. A professor of History at the University of Havana and affiliate of the Antonio Núñez Jimenez Foundation, Dr. Funes-Monzote came to TCU by way of Princeton University, where he was the Visiting Research Scholar for History and the Shelby Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies. 

During the four-day visit, Dr. Funes engaged in a series of intellectual and academic exchanges with students and faculty from programs across the university and beyond. One of the highlights of Dr. Funes-Monzote's visit was his lecture titled, “Livestock and Commodity Frontiers in the Environmental History of Latin America and the Caribbean.”. The event drew an outstanding turn out from TCU faculty and students, with standing room only in the campus venue, as well as additional faculty and students from other institutions, including Wayne State University, Texas Women’s University, University of Texas at Arlington, Oklahoma University, and others represented on the zoom broadcast. The presentation offered a general overview of the history of livestock in the Latin America and Caribbean region up to the twentieth century, emphasizing the different ecological transitions associated with the changing role of animals for hide and tallow, means of transportation, and as a source of animal protein through beef and milk. 

Dr. Funes-Monzote also led an interactive activity for students in in Spanish with the collaboration of Dr. Esther Teixeira, Dr. Tatiana Argüello, and a lively group of Latin American Culture students. Students prepared for the event by reading two articles authored by Dr. Funes, provided beforehand. The topic of that event involved the food and agricultural policies of the Cuban Revolution through the lens of Cuba’s celebrity dairy cow, named Ubre Blanca, but it also touched on a wide range of other topics, including agronomy, international development, agriculture and ranching sciences, and animal studies, environmental sciences, and more. The students drew on prior lessons in the course to develop questions for the speaker. Through this event, students of Spanish language and culture were able to hear a distinct dialect of the language, as well as practicing conversation skills and asking questions of about life and culture in Cuba. An added benefit that became apparent throughout the interactions with Dr. Funes was that the students, many of who were majoring in hard sciences (biology, chemistry, pre-med, etc), were able to explore content related to their majors (veterinary science, environmental science, genetics, selective breeding, etc) in Spanish through global content, demonstrating the deep connections between international education, language and cultural skills, and scientific knowledge. This interaction demonstrated precisely the advantages of Languages Across the Curriculum programming and exemplified the greatest possibilities of TCU’s Liberal Arts education. 

In addition to the lecture, Dr. Funes-Monzote visited the Fort Worth Stockyards, the National Cowgirl Museum, and the Cattle Raiser's Museum in Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. 

This event was made possible by  the generous support of TCU Global and the Frost Foundation, the Departments of History, Spanish and Hispanic Studies, Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies, and the Institute of Ranch Management. 

Dr. Funes-Monzote is the author of From Rainforest to Cane Field in Cuba: An Environmental History since 1492 (2008), Nuestro viaje a la luna. La idea de la transformación de la naturaleza en Cuba durante la Guerra Fría (2019), and dozens of articles and book chapters. 

  

 

Dr. Funes-Monzote with TCU student Kate Spielbauer and TCU's Neville G. Penrose Chair Latin American Studies and History and Associate Professor, Dr. Bonnie Lucero

Photo: Left to right: Dr. Reinaldo Funes-Monzote, Dr. Bonnie Lucero, and Dr. Tatiana Argüello

Photo: Dr. Funes-Monzote during his visit to the Fort Worth Stockyards

Photo: Dr. Funes-Monzote with a group of students who attended his public lecture

Photo: Dr. Funes-Monzote with a group of students, Dr. Bonnie Lucero, and Dr. Esther Teixeira.