Source: Photograph (2010) by WTL© on site at the Universidad de La Habana.
Comment: La Universidad de La Habana (UH) dates to 1728, but the old site in La Habana Vieja was abandoned in 1902, and a new campus was built in the Vedado district, as you see in this photo. This "new" campus was built between 1906 and 1940. The UH has 16 colleges and satellite campuses throughout Cuba. From 1728 to 1842 UH was a Catholic University; in 1842 it became secular and royal, given the swing to liberalism in Spain. At present, there are about 6,000 regular students enrolled. As you can see, the architectural style is a faithful imitation of classical and neo-classical style, the latter being the normal style for the old campus in 1728 in Old Havana. In 1952, when the presidential dictator Fulgencio Batista rose to power, the University was one of the principal focal points of the protests against Batista. Because of massive unrest, the University was closed from 1956 to 1959. Fidel Castro had been a student at the University, and, when he and the supporters of his Revolution seized control of the government and the country in 1959, the University was reopened.
Humanities question: What effect does the architectural style have on the education that is delivered at UH?
For other major universities in Latin America, see: => Major Universities in Latin America under the Support Pages link. For more views of the University of Havana, see: => Havana #6a; => Havana #6b; => Havana #6c; => Havana #6d; => Havana #6e; => Havana #6f; => Havana #6g.