ANN ARBOR—Speculation about the future of Cuba and U.S.-Cuban relations was rampant after officials announced President Fidel Castro was temporarily stepping down for the first time in 47 years. University of Michigan experts are available to discuss the situation and where it might lead.

U-M experts include:

Silvia Pedraza, associate professor of sociology, is the author of the upcoming book ” False Hopes: Political Disaffection in Cuba’s Revolution in Exodus” (Cambridge University Press) and ” Origins and Destinies: Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity in America” She has a particular interest in Cuba and Cuban exiles. She is in Miami, home of the largest Cuban population in the United States, this week but available by phone and will return to U-M Aug. 7. To arrange an interview, call Joe Serwach at (734) 647-1844 or e-mail her directly at spedraza@umich.edu

For more on Pedraza, visit: http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/public/experts/ExpDisplay.php?ExpID=596

Ruth Behar, professor of anthropology and women’s studies and author of the book ” Bridges to Cuba,” can discuss the religious revitalization that has occurred in Cuba since the 1990s. She was born in Cuba and came to the United States in 1962, three years after Castro took power. She has traveled to Cuba, Spain and Mexico many times during the last 20 years, and has written about her experience of crossing cultural borders. She can be reached at (734) 747-9197 or rbehar@umich.edu.

For more on Behar, visit: http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/public/experts/ExpDisplay.php?ExpID=58 or

http://www.ruthbehar.com/home.shtml

Raymond Tanter, emeritus professor of political science, is a noted authority of American policy who has made many national TV and radio appearances. He has written about rogue states including Cuba. Two of his books, ” Who’s at the Helm? Lessons of Lebanon,” and ” Rogue Regimes: Terrorism & Proliferation,” draw upon his experience as a senior staff member of Ronald Reagan’s National Security Council. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and its Economic Sanctions Task Force. Call him at (202) 333-7346 or e-mail him at rtanter@umich.edu

For more on Tanter, visit: http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/public/experts/ExpDisplay.php?ExpID=746

More resources:

The U-M International Institute comprises one of the nation’s broadest assemblies of interdisciplinary centers and programs organized around area studies. It supports a range of innovative collaborations and sponsored projects in international studies that cross traditional intellectual boundaries. For more details on its programs and experts, visit: http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/index.html

Related Links:

• Latin American and Caribbean Studies
• Latin American and Caribbean Studies faculty
• Resources related to Cuba and Latin America