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The University of Tampa was awarded $10,000 from the Florida Humanities as part of the Greater Good: Humanities in Academia grant to go toward UT’s Center for José Martí Studies Affiliate (CJMSA).

The grant will allow the CJMSA to expand its long-term goal of recovering and preserving the Cuban émigré press of the late 19th century by reviving the tradition of the lector, or cigar factory reader, said James López, Spanish professor and co-director of the CJMSA.

Top scholars from across the nation will record readings in the style of the lector from Cuban émigré newspapers of Florida and New York spanning from 1868-1900. Traditional lectors were hired by cigar factory workers around that time to read newspapers and novels aloud to them while they rolled cigars by hand.

In addition, a series of discussion panels featuring those scholars, titled Preserving Voices: Recovering the Cuban Émigré Press of the 19th Century, will be held virtually and in person to explore the significance of these publications in constructing community, revolution and identity. The discussions will be free and open to the public.

The themes, dates and locations for the discussions are as follows:

• “Formations of Cuban Identity and Nationhood,” Tuesday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m., on Zoom
• “Representation of Revolution,” date and time TBD, on Zoom·
• “Constructing Local Community,” Sunday, Jan. 28, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Charlene A. Gordon Theater
• “Immigrant Perspectives on American Life,” date and time TBD, on Zoom

The first and third panels will be moderated by López, the second one by Denis Rey, associate professor of political science and co-director of the CJMSA, and the fourth one by Adolfo Lagomasino, assistant teaching professor of communication. When dates and times are finalized for the second and fourth discussions, they will be posted on the CJMSA’s website.

Greater Good: Humanities in Academia funding offers up to $10,000 to academic departments, humanities centers, institutes and programs at Florida colleges and universities to support community programming that seeks to broaden awareness of what it means to be human. The awarded dynamic programs take these important humanities conversations beyond the campus and into the community.

For more information, contact the Center for José Martí Studies Affiliate at cjmsa@ut.edu.