Chile: Cultural Identity, Social Justice, and Community Development

Coursework

Prerequisites:
Three recent semesters of college-level Spanish or equivalent and the ability to follow coursework in Spanish, as assessed by SIT.

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This program combines topical seminars and discussions with field-based learning, around the themes of cultural identity, social justice, and community development. These themes are divided into modules so that students can contextualize the Chilean reality, taking into account historical elements, current realities, and emerging trends.

Theoretical perspectives are provided through academic seminars and are reinforced through the Spanish language classes. Subsequently, academic excursions and community work experiences serve to contextualize theories and provide opportunities for critical reflection around programmatic themes.

The topic of human rights is intertwined with the programmatic themes of social justice and development as part of an expanded concept of social, economic, political, and cultural rights within Chile.

The following syllabi are either from a recent session of this program or for an upcoming session. Because courses develop and change over time to take advantage of dynamic learning opportunities, actual course content will vary from term to term.

The syllabi can be useful for students, faculty, and study abroad offices in assessing credit transfer. Read more about credit transfer.

Culture and Society in Contemporary Chile - syllabus (PDF)
(LACB 3000 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
This course examines societal and cultural changes in Chile in the context of the military dictatorship and the post-dictatorial political order. It focuses on old and new forms of subjectivity and socio-cultural practice emerging as a consequence of and response to hegemonic political and economic discourses. It provides a broad background on cultural values and antagonisms and addresses issues of exclusion and marginalization in terms of class, gender, sexuality, youth, and indigenous communities. The course also seeks to understand the cultural influence and impact of political violence in the production of subjectivity and culture during the dictatorship.

Socioeconomic Development in Chile - syllabus (PDF)
(LACB 3005 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
Chile is a country that has undergone a number of drastic and diverse economic and political changes since the military coup of 1973. After the end of the dictatorship in 1989, economic growth and political stability in Chile were hailed by the international business community and economic agencies as a model for Latin America and the world. This course attempts to describe and critically interrogate this process by looking at the impact that the Chilean political system and the neoliberal model of economic development have had on the standards of living and quality of life of most Chileans. It addresses political issues related to human rights violations, the character of the political constitution, labor relations, and the environment. The course explores the institutional continuities and discontinuities between dictatorship and democracy.

Intensive Language Study: Spanish for Social and Cultural Studies I- syllabus (PDF)
(SPAN 2500 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
Intensive Language Study: Spanish for Social and Cultural Studies II - syllabus (PDF)
(SPAN 3000 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
Intensive Language Study: Spanish for Social and Cultural Studies III - syllabus (PDF)
(SPAN 3500 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
Intensive Language Study: Spanish for Social and Cultural Studies IV - syllabus (PDF)
(SPAN 4000/ 3 credits / 45 class hours)
Emphasis on speaking, reading, and writing skills through classroom and field instruction. Based on in-country evaluation, including oral proficiency testing, students are placed in small intensive intermediate or advanced classes, with further language practice during homestays, lectures, and field visits.

Research Methods and Ethics - syllabus (PDF)
(ANTH 3500 / 3 credits / 45 class hours)
A course in the concepts of learning across cultures and from field experience. The course serves as an introduction to the Independent Study Project. Material includes cross-cultural adaptation and skills building; project selection and use of appropriate methodologies; field study ethics and theWorld Learning/SIT Human Subjects Review Policy; developing contacts and finding resources; field study skills in observation and interviewing; organizing, analyzing, and communicating data; maintaining a field study journal.

Independent Study Project - syllabus (PDF)
(ISPR 3000 / 4 credits / 120 class hours)
Conducted in Valparaíso, Santiago, Temuco, Arica, or in another approved location in Chile appropriate to the project. Sample topic areas: land squatter organizations; the 1978 Amnesty Law; the “Disappeared” and their families; urban Mapuche culture; women’s reproductive rights; public health and educational reform; Chilean social policy; community-based mental health; Aymara social structure; folkloric roots of Chilean music; sustainable agricultural projects and rural society; indigenous belief systems and traditions.

Browse this program's Independent Study Projects/Undergraduate Research