The Fall 2022/Spring 2023 program will be directed by Professor Rick Axtell, Professor of Religion.
All students will take:
Civil Society and Sustainable Development (REL 257).
This can be taken as a course in REL, IST or ENS and also counts for SLJ and LAS minors. Students will study alternative theories of social and economic development in the Mexican context in light of religious ethical writings on poverty and development. Briefings with officials, interviews with religious and social activists, and visits to rural and urban civil society groups engaged in creative community development alternatives provide concrete case studies for understanding the interrelationship between social, political, economic, environmental, religious and ethical aspects of a country’s development process. This course includes travel in Chiapas and/or Oaxaca Taught in English by Professor Rick Axtell.
All students will also take a Spanish course at the appropriate level. Spanish majors may take a course in both language and literature. Below are the tentative options:
* Note: It is possible for Spanish majors to take three Spanish courses if eligible.
Spanish Fundamentals (SPA 110)
Spanish 120
Intermediate Spanish I (SPA 210)
Intermediate Spanish II (SPA 220)
Advanced Spanish Conversation (SPA 240)
Introduction to Literary Analysis (SPA 250)
Spanish American Culture (SPA 271)
In addition students will choose from the following courses
1. Ancient Maya Culture (ANT 451)
Students will learn the principles and processes behind the development of universal high culture, using the example of the ancient Maya. The course traces the cultural development of the Maya prior to the conquest by Europeans in the 16th century. Taught by Prof. Fernanda Suarez.
2. Human Ecology in the Yucatan (ENS 251)
What do humans need to live in a sustainable manner for generations to come? How do the actions of the human species limit this potential? This course will focus on the sustained needs for human population: food and fiber, shelter, water, and waste disposal. Students will consider how technology and the services of natural ecosystems collaborate to provide these services in the Yucatan and compare them to strategies used elsewhere. Taught by Prof. Eduardo Galicia.
3. The Church and Social Change in Latin America, (REL 227)
- An examination of the role of religion in Latin American society with special emphasis on Mexico. Students study religion from historical, sociological, and anthropological perspectives, examining pre-Columbian Mesoamerican religions, the mission of colonizers, syncretistic responses to conquest and evangelization, the relationship between church and state, the challenge of liberation theology, and the rise of Protestantism. Taught by Professor Rick Axtell.
Application, Deadlines, & Requirements