Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Open to all UIUC undergraduate students (*UIUC undergraduate students have priority to be accepted to the program).

For more information about the Summer LAS/SAO Course Abroad: PORT 400, 401 & 404, Salvador, Brazil,
please, visit the University of Illinois Study Abroad web page.

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Summer 2010: Business in Brazil

May 17-June 11, 2010
6 credit hours
For more information contact:
Mary Risner, Associate Director < mrisner@latam.ufl.edu>

Summer 2010: THREE SUMMER INTENSIVE COURSES IN YUCATEC MAYA

June 7 - July 17, 2010

The Yucatec Maya Summer Institute offers three courses in  modern Yucatec Maya, a living language spoken by one million people living in the Yucatán Peninsula and northern Belize.

FIELD STUDY
For too many years the Yucatán has only been known as a vacation spot teeming with beach-goers. Students in the Intensive Yucatec Maya Courses will have the unique opportunity to take a comprehensive look at the Yucatán by visiting a range of important historic and cultural locations. Trips to archeological and colonial sites as well as other Mayan villages are led by Mayan scholars and anthropologists, who will introduce them to the cultural importance of each site. Throughout their stay in the Yucatán, students may use their free time to travel to other areas of interest.Mérida, the beautiful capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, offers its visitors both modern and historic aspects of city life. Mérida is an excellent base from which to explore the Yucatán, close to both Caribbean beaches and Mayan archeological sites.  Valladolid is a charming historic city and a wonderful place to be based. The UNO, Universidad del Oriente in Valladolid is a new upcoming university which offers an undergraduate degree in Maya culture and language.    Xocen, situated twelve kilometers southeast of Valladolid and about 200 kilometers southwest of Cancún, is located in the milpa area of the Mexican state of Yucatán. Xocen is an ancient town that played a key role in the Caste War and was the original home of the Talking Cross.

LEVEL I
Weeks 1-3 –University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 6 credit hours, 160 contact hours
The program begins with intensive classroom instruction six hours a day, for three weeks on the UNC campus followed by three intensive weeks in Mexico.  Throughout the six weeks, Level I students will receive six hours of intensive classroom instruction daily.  The course is taught by Dr. David Mora Marín from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Miguel Guémez Pineda from the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán.  For the three weeks that Level I students are in Chapel Hill, they must find their own housing.  Incorporated into the program at UNC are films, special lectures and a workshop on Mayan hieroglyphics. At the end of the third week, students in Level I will travel to Valladolid where they will stay for the next three weeks.   

Week 4,5,6– Valladolid and Xocen
During the final three weeks Level I students will stay at the Quetzal, a small bungalow style hotel in the historical San Bernardino neighborhood. They will go daily to the UNO for classes, lectures by historians, linguists and anthropologist.  They will also have contact with young Maya university students who are attending the UNO.  During the week in Xocen students will join in the daily activities of Mayan families in the village.  There will be opportunities  to visit  in homes and interact with families  who enjoy talking and getting to know the students each year.   While in Xocen, Level I students will carry out a project proposed earlier in the field study. During the 3 weeks there will also be visits to neighboring villages, the archeological sites of Ek Balam, Cobá and several cenotes in the area.  In many of the communities the majority of the villagers only speak Maya, offering students an excellent environment in which to practice their language skills.

LEVEL II
Weeks 1-3 –Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México UNAM 6 credit hours, 140 contact hours
This course begins with three weeks of intensive classroom instruction in Mérida, Mexico.  Students will attend class six hours a day, five days a week taught by the linguist Ismael May May, who has over fifteen years experience teaching Yucatec Maya.  He is presently a faculty member at the UNAM in Merida. Students will also work with US-based Dr. John Tuxill, a Yale graduate and a member of the faculty at Western Washington University. The course will incorporate Mayan texts and literature appropriate to this level. For the three weeks, Level II students will live with Mexican host families. The UNAM in Mérida gives Maya students a new place to do research, attend lectures, and collaborate with academics who have similar interests.

Weeks 4 ,5 and 6 –Valladolid and Xocen
During the final three weeks of the program Level II students will stay at the Quetzal, a small bungalow style hotel in the historical San Bernardino neighborhood in Valladolid. They will go daily to the UNO for classes, lectures by historians, linguists and anthropologist and will work on a class project with students from the UNO.  They will also have direct contact with young Maya university students who are studying Mayan linguistics there.  Each Level II students will be paired with a Maya university student and will have the opportunity to experience more fully the life of a student as well as practice speaking Maya in an informal setting. During the week in Xocen students will join in the daily activities of Mayan families in the village.  There will be opportunities to visit  in homes and interact with families  who enjoy talking and getting to know the students each year.   During the 3 weeks, there will also be visits to neighboring villages, the archeological sites of Ek Balam, Cobá and several cenotes in the area.  In many of the communities the majority of the villagers only speak Maya, offering students an excellent environment in which to practice their language skills.

LEVEL III
Weeks 1-6
Level III was offered for the first time in summer 2008.  It  has  evolved into a course which prepares students to carry out fieldwork and  to achieve fluency  in the target language.  Students in the third level of the Summer Intensive Course will be taught by Mayan native speaker and linguist Fidencio Briseño Chel, one of the best known and respected linguists in Mesoamerica.  Students will live in Mérida and use as their home base the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Yucatán for the first two weeks of the course. There they will attend formal classes four hours daily as well as work with native speakers on site. After two weeks at the UNAM, the students, who will have already chosen the village or villages for their fieldwork, will carry out their work under the supervision of Briseño Chel.  The final week will be spent at the Universidad del Oriente in Valladolid in formal language review and working together to analyze their projects. Students will be evaluated on their projects as well as their Yucatec Maya writing, reading and comprehension skills.  Students will be constantly exposed to native speakers and will be invited to participate in workshops, radio programs and conferences held during their stay in Mérida and Valladolid.

Cost
The program fee will cover instructional fees, accommodations, some meals, most site and museum fees, and transportation for all excursions. It does not include airfare to Mexico, passport fees, most meals, housing for three weeks in Chapel Hill for those in the beginning level course, laundry service or personal expenses. Please contact the Institute for more information.  FLAS and other funding is available for many qualified graduate and undergraduate students.  Please contact the Institute for additional information about funding.

Course Materials
The Yucatec Maya Institute will provide the books and CD’s for Spoken Yucatec Maya, by Robert Blair and Refugio Vermont
Salas, along with colorful vocabulary flashcards and the supplementary reader Maaya Ts’iibo’ob-Yucatec Maya.    Students will also use the Maaya T'aan series developed in 1994 by the Mexican Secretariat of Education for use in Maya classes in Mexico and the documentary in Yucatec Maya, Sáastal: The Children of the Sacred Grace.  The DVD will be an innovative learning tool and will enhance the students’ knowledge of the people and culture.  
NOTE:  This is a rigorous course held in an intense climate (averaging around 100 °F a day).  Students should be flexible and be able to cope with heat. 

APPLICATION & ENROLLMENT
Total combined enrollment for all three levels is limited to twenty students, so students are encouraged to apply early. Applications are invited from anyone who wishes to study Yucatec Maya. Application deadline is Friday, March 15.  
FOR APPLICATIONS CONTACT: The Study Abroad Office, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, FedEx Global Education Center CB# 3130 Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3130, Phone: 919-962-7002, Fax: 919-962-2262 http://studyabroad.unc.edu/programs.cfm?pk=1883
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit our website: http://isa.unc.edu or contact Sharon Mújica at: The Yucatec Maya Summer Institute, Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, FedEx Global Education Center CB#3205, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3205, phone: (919) 962-2414, fax: (919) 962-0398, email: smujica@email.unc.edu
Sponsored by the Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University

Summer 2010: Guatemala – Oxlajuj Aj: Kaqchikel Maya Intensive Language & Culture

June 21 – July 30, 2010

The Stone Center for Latin American Studies offers an intensive six-week course in the vital Kaqchikel language and its culture, providing a unique opportunity to observe and study the complex process as a traditionally marginalized language is standardized for use in education and publication.
Judith M. Maxwell, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Linguistics at Tulane, is co-director of the program and serves as a resource and guide for students. The program is open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates with appropriate academic backgrounds and a working knowledge of Spanish.
Students have the option of taking a three-credit version of the program by choosing either Beginning, Intermediate, or Advanced Kaqchikel Language for three credits each or the six-credit version including one of the referenced language courses plus a Kaqchikel Mayan Culture course for an additional three credits.
 
The cost of the six-week program is $3,700 for the three-credit option and $4,100 for the six-credit option.
The cost includes the following: three or six undergraduate/graduate credits from Tulane University, medical insurance, specialized tours and outings designed for participants in the program, and travel in between sites on the program. Housing and airfare are not included in the program price.
This course qualifies for FLAS funding.  Contact your institution for more information on applying for a FLAS fellowship.
 
For more information please go to International Programs at http://stonecenter.tulane.edu/
or to Dr. Judith Maxwell website at http://www.tulane.edu/~maxwell/.

CLASP Programs

The Consortium for Latin American Studies Programs provides a comprehensive list of summer programs in less-commonly taught and indigenous Latin American languages offered by universities throughout the United States. Click here for more information

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UIUC Study Abroad Office

Organizes study programs in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela. For information, visit https://www.studyabroad.illinois.edu/

• Summer Abroad in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil: Portuguese PORT 101, 102, 103, 104, 210 and PORT 199,  Portuguese Language and Brazilian Culture Studies. Learn Portuguese Language and Brazilian Culture Studies. In addition to class meetings, students will make excursions into the local community to visit Candomble temples and Catholic churches, museums, historical sites, NGOs, community organizations, music concerts, and capoeira classes. For more details, click here or contact Prof. Luciano Tosta at lutosta@illinois.edu
• Summer Abroad in Curacao, Netherland Antilles: GEOL 415/515, Coral Reef Biocomplexity. This course explores the complex interactions between life and earth that govern changes in the environment. Students will evaluate the influence of increasing sea surface temperature and human-derived pollution on the development of disease in coral reefs of the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific. For more details, click here or contact Prof. Bruce Fouke at fouke@illinois.edu
• Summer Abroad in Buenos Aires: SPAN 199, 208, or 228, Encountering Buenos Aires Languages, Cultures, and Communities. Students will focus on Buenos Aires, Argentina's financial, political, and cultural center and South America’s largest capital. Immersion in this multicultural environment will allow students multiple authentic opportunities to practice their oral and written Spanish by interacting with the local population. For more details, click here or contact Prof. Carolina Rocha at cmrocha@illinois.edu
• Summer Abroad in Mexico: SPAN/LLS 442, WS 445,LLS 220/SOC 221, Latin American and Latino Migration. This course will focus on Mexican migration to the United States, migration’s effect on the global economy, the role of “homeland” in the immigrant experience, differences in experience between genders, the meaning of citizenship, and the transformation of national borders. For more details, click here or contact Prof.Jonathan X. Inda at jxinda@illinois.edu

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INEPAS: Experiencing Life in Guatemala

INEPAS was founded in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala in 1994 as a civil non-profit-making association. It is fully recognized by the Guatemalan government for performing a range of social, legal, and humanitarian projects within the framework of developing rural communities in and around Quetzaltenango. INEPAS functions solely with the help of national and international volunteers who offer their support, professional talent and work experience in diverse fields.

INEPAS has received official recognition from UNESCO. Its first social project, the foundation and construction of a rural school in the Maya-K'iché community of Choquiac was designated by UNESCO as exemplary for other organizations that work on similar projects. INEPAS generates the necessary funds for its social aid programs through its Spanish language school, thus remaining self-sustaining and non-partisan.

The Language Immersion Program: for those whose primary aim is to learn Spanish.
This is tailored to meet the needs of the individual, comprising of structured, intensive one-to-one tuition daily. Daily socio-cultural activities are arranged according to the interests of the students, including visits to local villages, trips to areas of natural beauty, films, sports and conferences on various aspects of Guatemalan life.

The Service Learning Program: for those who wish to learn Spanish in the context of voluntary work.
This consists of intensive one-to-one Spanish tuition each weekday morning and in the afternoons, students can participate in one of our social aid programs. Working directly with communities increases the desire and motivation to learn the Spanish language, whilst the classroom time enables participants to be more effective in their work in those communities. Thus both occupations complement and enhance each other.

Voluntary Internships: both in Social Projects and as an International Co-ordination Assistant. More information about these can be found on our website.

If you would like to receive more information about our organization, please visit our website at www.inepas.org or
contact us at info@inepas.org.

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Nexos Voluntarios

Volunteer in different programs in Peru (Lima and Cusco). For more information, visit www.nexosvoluntarios.org.

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Study Abroad Opportunity in Guamtemala for Undergraduate and Graduate Students

The Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona and the Center for Mesoamerican Research in Guatemala (CIRMA) invite you to study abroad in Guatemala.

CIRMA is a leading intellectual center in Guatemala whose work focuses on ethnic relations in Guatemala and Central America, as well as social justice, development and the legacy of the Central American civil wars and peace processes. The professors and lecturers at CIRMA are renowned Central American scholars, policy experts, activists and artists.

The CIRMA study abroad program offers Spanish and Mayan language classes, intermediate and advanced courses in History, Anthropology, Environmental Studies and Latin American literature and politics, a home-stay with a Guatemalan family, and engaging field trips, for-credit internships and research opportunities.

CIRMA classes are approved for University of Arizona credit. Many classes can be taken for graduate credit. Students benefit from CIRMA?s extensive archival and photographic collections.

http://www.cirma.org.gt (click on the study abroad link on the CIRMA web page)

WHAT STUDENTS SAY

• CIRMA provides a very supportive environment, with small class sizes, a lot of personalized attention. We've really bonded as a group. Antigua is a beautiful, vibrant, and welcoming town. Casey Edwards, Fall 2007 student.
• My experience in Antigua was truly unforgettable. I am amazed at how much I learned, how many great friendships I made and how much of Guatemala I was able to see in only six weeks. The program at CIRMA was wonderful, and I recommend it to anyone considering applying. Ashley MacLaren, Summer 2007.
• What I love about CIRMA is that the professors are completely unique. Our history professor was a former guerrilla! Also, it's not a big university, and CIRMA organizes everything, including extra field trips to places we would never get to otherwise. We just went to Santa Anita, a little town in the department of Quetzaltenango, to meet with a community of ex-combatants who grow their own coffee and export it to the US. There is such a family here, and so many people to go to in case there's a problem. Bill Burden, Fall 2007.

A UNIQUE STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM

• Professors at CIRMA are Central American experts who have lived the history that they teach. For example, the history class focuses on Central American revolutions, and the professor is a former diplomatic representative of the Salvadoran FMLN. The Archeology professor is currently working on an excavation in the Petén region. The Environmental Studies professor is one of Guatemala's leading experts in the area of biodiversity and environmental policy.
• The professors are available to work with you on independent studies.
• The Center for Mesoamerican Research (CIRMA) can help you arrange an internship in a local organization or in the CIRMA archives (students from Fall 2007 semester said this was their favorite part of the academic program). This looks impressive on a resume or graduate school application, it is a way to practice your Spanish and contribute to the work of Guatemalan organizations, and it also awards you up to 3 academic credits.
• Antigua is a breathtakingly beautiful colonial city and a safe place to live and study.
• You can receive one additional credit by attending the weekly colloquium presentations given by prominent Guatemalan scholars, artists and activists.

ARRIVAL AND HOMESTAY

• Upon arrival, you are picked up at the airport, handed your own personal cell phone and taken directly to your homestay with a Guatemalan family in Antigua. On your way to your home stay, a CIRMA representative will call you on your cell phone to welcome you to Guatemala and answer any questions you have. A stress-free arrival!

FIELD TRIPS AND TRAVEL

• The CIRMA professors lead optional field trips to their areas of interest. Students may meet with community leaders in a former rebel stronghold in El Salvador; visit a fair trade coffee plantation in the highlands of Guatemala; hike to archeological sites in the Peten jungle; or visit a national park, Sierra de las Minas, to study the politics of conservation and biodiversity.
• A mini-course will focus on human rights in the wake of the Central American civil wars, and the course will include visits to various indigenous communities within Guatemala, as well as to El Salvador.
• The Spanish teachers take students to university classes and events in Guatemala City and incorporate trips to the market, museums, and cafés in Antigua into their classes.
• You will have Fridays off (no classes), and most students take advantage of the long weekends to travel on their own. From Antigua, you can easily catch buses to all the diverse regions of Guatemala, from the Mayan highlands to the black sand beaches of the Pacific coast. You can visit market towns, rainforests, and hot springs. Some students even travel throughout Central America and Belize. (Many foreign visitors travel to Guatemala each year, and traveling in the country is generally safe, although you need to be cautious about tourism-related common crime. CIRMA staff will give you tips on traveling on your own within Guatemala.)

ACADEMICS AND INTERNSHIPS

CIRMA offers Spanish and Mayan language instruction, as well as small, personalized classes covering a range of topics. Many classes can be taken for honors credit, and some classes can be taken for graduate credit. Students receive a University of Arizona transcript. CIRMA has one of the best libraries in the region, and students can use this library to write their papers, and even do research for a senior thesis. Students at CIRMA have on-site access to the internet, with their own lounge and reading room. The rooftop classroom overlooks the Agua volcano.

For a 2009 schedule of classes, program costs and application deadlines:

CONTACT:

Latin America Program Coordinator, UA Study Abroad Office: Jill Calderón, email: jcaldero@email.arizona.edu

http://www.cirma.org.gt (click on study abroad on the left side of the website)

UA Guatemala Study Abroad website: http://studyabroad.arizona.edu (choose Guatemala under View Programs)

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Ecuador: The Amazon and the Andes Field School

This program provides an interdisciplinary opportunity to study Quichua language and religious life, tropical plant biology, and/or Spanish while experiencing the rich culture of the Andes and the Amazon. A unique perspective is gained by living and working with indigenous communities. Members of these communities serve as co-teachers in the courses. Click here for more information

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Global Exchange

Is a non-profit research, education, and action center dedicated to promoting people-to-people ties around the world. Since our founding in 1988, we have been striving to increase global awareness among the US public while building international partnerships around the world. If you have a particular destination in mind, browse Tours by Country (Costa Rica/Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti, and Mexico, and the US-Mexico Border). If you are interested in specific issues, take a look at Tours by Issue. If you have to fit a trip into your vacation schedule, start with Tours by Date. All tours are cross-linked by country, issue and date. One example of their "Reality Tours" is Haiti: A Culture of Resistance. You can also find volunteer opportunities with Global Exchange.Click here for more information

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Study Abroad Opportunities through the Center for Global Education at Augsburg College

Undergraduate Study Abroad Programs in Cuernavaca, Mexico and in Central America. Integrate solid academic work with real-life experiences. You learn not only from books, but also by living fully in the midst of the society you are studying, encountering the people and culture inside and outside the walls of a classroom. Click here for more information

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Seminar on Environmental Conflict Resolution in Costa Rica

A study abroad program will be held in Costa Rica at the United Nations-mandated University for Peace, conducted by Global Majority.  The host institution will grant four units of graduate and upper level undergraduate credit for students' participation in this program, entitled "Promoting Peace through Dialogue" Latin America Session 2008.  The topics of the course include the following:

▪ Theory of interest-based negotiation;
▪ Environmental peacemaking;
▪ Environmental conflict management;
▪ Transboundary water conflict;
▪ Environmental cooperation and conservation strategies;
▪ Background to various conflicts in Latin America;
▪ Cultural and gender aspects of conflict resolution; and
▪ Civil society's role in mitigating and resolving conflict.

For more information, visit www.globalmajority.org.