Faculty-led programs
Study the life and culture of the Highland Maya
Guatemala
6 undergraduate credits in anthropology
May 27-July 8, 2010
Maury Hutcheson, Ph.D.
$2,380 (includes roundtrip airfare) plus VCU tuition
Registration deadline: March 26, 2010
Status: Program open
The Office of International Education and the School of World Studies are pleased to offer a unique opportunity for students to study the Highland Maya Culture. The program is based in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and will allow students to observe the cultural complexity of the Guatemalan highlands. The location provides an ideal setting in which to explore different topics such as cultural pluralism, religious conservation and change, local responses to globalization and cultural revitalization movements. This program is well suited for students in anthropology, international studies, history and religious studies.
Course and credit options
Students are required to register for a total of six credits, including 3 credits in the core offering, ANTH 391: Highland Maya and Ladino Culture Past and Present. Anthropology majors in particular are encouraged to register for ANTH 315: Anthropological Field Methods and Research Design (3 credits). With permission of the instructor, students may register for three credits of independent study under ANTH 492, INTL 492, or RELS 492, as an alternative to ANTH 315. Students pursuing independent studies are expected to participate fully in all group activities while in Guatemala, though their final research paper may be different.
Course description
Based in Quetzaltenango, this six-week program will provide students with a comprehensive overview of Mayan indigenous life in Guatemala, past and present, including opportunities for individual and group research through participant observation, attendance at cultural events, lectures on selected topics, and excursions to museums and major archaeological sites, dating from the earliest days of the Olmec/Maya transition to the contact-era capitals that were toppled by the Spanish conquistadors. Interethnic relations between the Maya and their non-indigenous Ladino neighbors will be a special focus of this year’s program. Course instruction will be in English, but in order to facilitate our rapid immersion in the local culture students will also receive two weeks of individualized, one-on-one tutoring in Spanish at the Escuela de Español Juan Sisay. Readings in history, ethnography and archaeology directly related to the communities we visit will be closely integrated with discussions of anthropological theory and effective research practices.
Regularly scheduled classroom meetings will alternate with weekend field trips to local indigenous communities throughout the region, including Lake Atitlan and Chichicastenango, as well as presentations by local Maya cultural leaders and visits to sites of cultural interest in the town and its surrounding villages. Students will gain practical experience in a variety of ethnographic research techniques as well as the ethical dimension of anthropological fieldwork while exploring historical continuities and transformations in Mayan culture and religious practice, especially in response to international tourism and economic globalization.
The program will be led by Dr. Maury Hutcheson of the VCU School of World Studies, whose research centers on the religious practice, and expressive culture of the K’iche’ Maya and their response to nearly 500 years of Spanish/indigenous interaction and transculturation, as well as the impact of globalization and tourism in the present generation. Dr. Hutcheson has extensive experience in Guatemala, having made numerous research visits there over many years. This will be his third time directing the anthropology in Guatemala study abroad program.
» Download the program itinerary [PDF]
Registration deadline: March 26, 2010
Applications will be accepted until the deadline or until participant space is full.
Program cost
$2,380 plus applicable VCU tuition
The program fee is $2,380 and includes the following:
- Roundtrip airfare
- Accommodations
- All meals while living with Guatemalan families
- Study visits and excursions
- Ground transportation
- On-site program director support
- Application fee and deposit
- Pre-departure orientation
- VCU administrative fees
- International Student Identification Card
The following are not included in the program fee. Students are responsible for:
- VCU tuition and fees
- Passport application fee
- All meals when we are based in hotels
- Personal expenses during the program (estimated at $500)
- Anything not specifically mentioned above
Please budget for these additional expenses.
Airfare
Airfare is included. The professor will make travel arrangements between the United States and Guatemala, departing on the morning of May 27 and returning July 8.
Eligibility
Students must have at least a 2.0 GPA in order to participate in the VCU summer study abroad program. All applicants must have completed ANTH 103 Introduction to Anthropology. All applicants must agree to an interview with the instructor, together with a representative of the Education Abroad office, prior to acceptance into the course. A student’s GPA may be taken into account but will not be the sole determining factor.
This program is intended to benefit majors in the anthropology program by providing a practicum in ethnographic research methods and research design, along with a survey of Highland Maya culture. Anthropology majors will enjoy preference over non-anthropology majors. Within that cohort, advanced anthropology majors will have preference over less advanced students, as measured in the number of anthropology credits already completed. Non-anthropology majors from the School of World Studies who wish to fulfill their requirements for international experience will be next in line, and preference again will be extended to senior students over less advanced students. However, strongly motivated students from other disciplines, including freshmen and sophomores, are encouraged to apply. Spanish proficiency is not formally required, but in the event that many students fitting the criteria above wanted to participate, preference would be shown to those with greater levels of Spanish fluency.
While in Guatemala
Principal points of interest will likely include the communities of Antigua, Zunil, Lake Atitlán, Chichicastenango, Tecpán, and Momostenango and the archaeological sites of Copan, Utatlán, Iximché, and Abaj Takalik, though the list may be subject to change. Students will also have an opportunity to climb the active volcano Pacaya.
Students will be living in home-stays with Mayan and Ladino families in Quetzaltenango for the better part of five weeks, which will include private rooms, shared baths, three meals each day, purified drinking water and opportunities for direct engagement with the domestic life of the host families. Quetzaltenango is a large yet comfortably scaled city with a majority indigenous population, a regional hub permitting access to many small indigenous communities and sites of interest.
The program will also include several one to four night excursions to other locations of particular interest, about 11 nights in all. During these excursions students will be staying in hotels and should expect to purchase meals in restaurants or from vendors in the open air markets.
Important facts
- Tuition
- Financial aid
- Passports
- Payment of fees
- Refund policy
Tuition and fees is charged separately and additionally at standard VCU rates for in-state students and at a 40 percent discount for out-of-state students. Estimated costs, based on current tuition per credit and fees, are as follows: undergraduate in-state, $221 (per 3 credit class: $655); undergraduate out-of-state, $439 (per 3 credit class: $1,309); graduate in-state, $455 (per 3 credit class: $1,357); graduate out-of-state, $567 ($1,693 per 3 credit class).
Eligible VCU students may apply for need-based financial aid to participate in this program. Contact VCU Financial Aid, Ginter House, Room 110B at (804) 828-6669 or e-mail faidmail@vcu.edu. VCU offers its students a limited number of scholarships for study abroad participation. Contact VCU Education Abroad or see our Web site for further details.
If you have a passport, make sure it is valid for at least six months after your return date. If you do not have a passport, apply early because the processing time can take up to eight weeks. For more information on how to apply for a passport, visit http://travel.state.gov.
The non-refundable registration fee of $250 is due upon registration. The balance of the program fee and the tuition costs (based on the number of credits taken) will be billed separately through VCU Student Accounting after May 2010 (both amounts may be billed at the same time).
All withdrawals must be made in writing and submitted to the Director of Education Abroad.
The refund schedule is as follows:
- Prior to April 15: I am eligible for a refund of the portionof the program fee that has not already been expended in payment of costs outlined on the individual program sheet in support of my participation. I understand that, as the spring progresses, the charges may reflect an increasing amount, depending on what payments have been made on my behalf. After April 15, I understand that the entire program fee may be due. I understand that the refund amount cannot be determined until I formally submit written withdrawal from the program.
- After April 15: I will be responsible to pay the entire program fee. In the event of an unexpected emergency that occurs after April 15, I understand that I must provide a physician’s certification that my condition prohibits participation. In this case, refunds will be limited to recoverable expenses.
Every effort is made to provide updated and accurate information at the time of publication. The sponsors reserve the right to make necessary changes to the programs and costs. The university reserves the right to revise or alter all fees, regulations pertaining to student fees, and fee collection procedures at any time.
