Books: Non-Fiction

A Year Without Sundays (Un Año Sin Domingos)

Book — Non-fiction. By Catherine Murphy and Carlos Torres Cairo. 2014. 132 pages (& DVD).
Photos and stories about the highly successful Cuban literacy campaign of 1961.

Time Periods: 1961
Themes: Education, World History/Global Studies

YearWithoutSundaysIn 1961, Cuba launched a nationwide, highly effective literacy campaign. Young people traveled from the cities to the rural areas, working with farmers during the day and teaching by lamplight at night.

Not only did the country rapidly reach an unprecedented 96 percent literacy rate, but also the young teachers were profoundly changed. They developed a new found respect for campesinos, and the traditional roles of women in society changed qualitatively.

The impact of the campaign on the teachers and the students is told through the photos and stories in this  beautiful and inspirational bilingual book. [Description from Rethinking Schools.]

A Year without Sundays: Images from the Literacy Campaign in Cuba / Un Año sin Domingos: La Imagen de la Alfabetizacion en Cuba includes numerous archival photographs from the period, accounts from participants, an introductory essay by the great Cuban poet and literacy campaign participant Nancy Morejón, and a DVD of selected moments from the acclaimed film Maestra by U.S. film maker and co-author Catherine Murphy.

ISBN: 9788461735044 | Ediciones Aurelia and The Literacy Project (available through PM Press)