Latin American History: Reform and Revolution
Course Location: Mexico
Course Dates: June 2 – June 30, 2009
Academic Credits: 3 credits in History (HIST 242), 3 credits in Service Learning (SRVL 493)
Academic Instructor: Evan Widders, Director of the Multidisciplinary Studies Program at West Virginia University
Course Description
This course is offered by Amizade Global Service-Learning in partnership with West Virginia University. The purpose of the course is to examines the historical roots of several of the most striking features of contemporary Latin American beliefs, culture, government, and development. We will examine the mixtures of peoples of different ethnic origins; economic underdevelopment and political instability; and the historic forms in which resources, both material and human, have been exploited and distributed. We will also endeavor to understand Latin America’s rich cultural traditions, its romance, its color and physical splendors, and its irrepressible vitality.
Academically, the course focuses on the cultural history of Latin America with special emphasis on Mexico. Specific subjects covered by the course will include:
- Pre-Columbian Latin America and especially the Maya civilization
- The uniqueness and diversity of Latin American religious traditions
- The persistence of indigenous beliefs and their value as a means of resistance against the encroachments of the modern state
- The development of Mexican nationalism and the place of women and indigenous people in modern Mexico
- Rebellion and revolution in Latin America generally and Mexico specifically
Students in this course are given the unique opportunity to acculturate themselves into the social fabric of contemporary Mexico by studying the culture and serving the community in which they live by providing English as a Learned Language (ELL) instruction. The intercultural exchange will be facilitated by an experienced faculty mentor and will include presentations by local experts and participation in cultural events and field trips. Students will learn the basics of ELL instruction while simultaneously developing an academic understanding of the current state of Latin American historical scholarship. In ELL instruction knowledge of a foreign language is not required. Thus, all students are welcome regardless of prior experience with Latin American culture, the Spanish language, or teaching English.
An integral aspect of the course is the development of students as Global Citizens. Aside from the coursework, the program emphasizes the ethical development of students as citizens of a global community. Through academic instruction and personal experience students will learn to interpret the ramifications of the collision between the Old World and the New, the developed and underdeveloped. They will build a sense of responsibility as representatives of the wealthiest nation on the planet while working to expand the global community by sharing their own ethics and values with individuals representing another cultural tradition.
As students reflect during their activities in Mexico, they will be encouraged to understand that, but for a fluke of geography, they could have been born into an entirely different culture and would carry with them its assumptions and realities. After completing this course, they will have gained the analytical tools to understand Mexican culture as an outgrowth of a series of political choices that were shaped by social and cultural realities. Students will develop the understanding that conceptions such as citizenry and its attendant responsibilities vary in local contexts, and that their preconceptions were similarly shaped by their own cultural environment. Perhaps most importantly, they will learn to challenge their previously unexamined beliefs. For instance, the students will have learned the historical context to understand that the developmental path chosen by the United States and urged upon its neighbors is not inevitable and that phrases such as “free trade,” “NAFTA,” and “globalization” represent only one path among many. Finally, they will explore how migration has impacted the lives of Latin Americans.
Program Fee: $4406 (before 12/31)* $4656 (before 2/15)** $4906 (after 2/15) Apply Now
The Program Fee includes room and board, local programming, staffing, and transportation, university credits, international health insurance, a contribution to the local community organization, and recreational and cultural activities.
Students are responsible for international airfare, passports and/or visas, immunizations and any books or required course materials.
* Students who are accepted and hold their place with a non-refundable $500 deposit by December 31, 2008 receive a $500 tuition discount.
** Students who are accepted and hold their place with a non-refundable $500 deposit by February 15, 2009 receive a $250 tuition discount.