Description

Rural Development for Socioeconomic and Ecological Resilience

The Global Education Office and the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs are pleased to offer a unique opportunity for students to engage in a service-learning field course to explore environmental issues, political-economic challenges, and sustainability concerns in the context of the developing country of Guatemala. The course involves applied work with rural communities in the Western Highlands region of the country, conducted in conjunction with the Highland Support Project (HSP), a non-governmental organization (NGO) that is active in the region. Topics and themes examined through the course include land hunger and distribution, social vulnerability, community health, indigenous rights, land degradation, household energy use, common property resource management, sustainable livelihoods, agricultural development, and disaster risk reduction.

Course and Credit Options: 3 VCU Credits
*INTL 591 Rural Development for Socioeconomic and Ecological Resilience (Service-Learning)

Course Description:
Most of the course and the service work will focus on a few small Mayan communities in the Guatemalan Highlands. The course also will include visits to other sites near Lake Atitlan and the City of Antigua that are of relevance to the course themes, and to local organizations and projects aimed at sustainable development.

Students help build stoves for community households that more effectively channel smoke from cooking fires beyond the home, thereby improving indoor air quality. In addition, the stoves are more fuel-efficient; they therefore decrease the amount of time or money that must be spent obtaining fuelwood and help to reduce deforestation pressure in the region. The students also will help with activities aimed at reforesting areas near the communities, such as soil preparation, transplanting and other nursery work, and tree planting.

Students will be required to complete a number of readings on Guatemala's history, culture, and politics, and other topics covered in the course (e.g. peasant farming systems, soil and water conservation, common property resource management, and natural hazards). Students also are required to attend pre-travel meetings and must complete two papers about topics explored through the readings, fieldwork, and other activities undertaken in Guatemala.

Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course the student will:

* Recognize how Guatemala's political, economic, and cultural history has influenced contemporary socio-economic and environmental conditions in the country.
* Understand, and be able to describe, key challenges commonly faced by Guatemalan communities, such as political repression, land hunger, poverty, environmental hazards, poor (agricultural) market conditions, and threats to water and energy supplies.
* Understand the ways in which some of these challenges are linked to current macro-scale forces, such as neo-liberal economic policies, globalization, and neo-colonialism.
* Be familiar with how some of the aforementioned problems are being addressed through community-level activities aimed at economic development and environmental management, and recognize the limitations of, and challenges for, such efforts.
* Possess improved knowledge, attitudes, and skills for cross-cultural and international work.

Service-learning component: Service learning at VCU is a course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets community-identified needs. For this course the service will focus on community needs in relation to fuelwood use, reforestation, and agricultural development. In addition to creative and physical work in relation to the latter needs, the students will complete a paper about their service activities, what they learned from them and from other course content, and how it affected their sense of global responsibility.

Highlights

While in Guatemala:
The course will include visits to sites near Lake Atitlan and the city of Antigua that are of relevance to the course themes, and to local organizations and projects aimed at sustainable development and human rights. Cultural events, such as exploring a weaving facility, a coffee cooperative, and a Mayan worship site are all experienced on the trip. There are also nightly lectures by Guatemalan academics and indigenous community/environmental leaders. All group presentations will be translated into English.

The program will be led by Dr. Avrum J. Shriar. Dr. Shriar is an Associate Professor in the Urban & Regional Studies and Planning programs at VCU. He conducts research in the following related subjects: Rural Development, Farming Systems and Land Use, Natural Resource Management and Conservation, and Cultural and Political Ecology. Most of his work focuses in particular on the factors contributing to poverty, land degradation, and deforestation in rural regions of developing countries, mainly in Latin America, and on the policies and strategies that can help alleviate these problems. Shriar has undertaken research or consulting work in 14 countries (including Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Bolivia) but as well, has traveled and trekked in over 50 countries. This will be his second time directing a VCU Education Abroad program.

Degree Level

Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Subject Areas

• International Policy And Diplomacy
• International Relations
• Urban & Regional Planning

Cost in US$:

Approx. USD1,700 (incl. airfare) + VCU tuition

Program Fees Include:

The program fee is approximately USD1,600 - USD1,800 and includes the following:
* Round-trip airfare
* Accommodations
* All meals (except those on the last day in Guatemala)
* Study visits and excursions
* Ground transportation
* On-site Program Director support
* Pre-departure orientation
* International Student Identity Card
* VCU administrative fees
* Application deposit

The following are not included in the program fee. Students are responsible for:

* VCU tuition and fees
* Any additional meals (including meals on last day)
* Passport application fee
* Personal expenses during the program (estimated at USD100-USD150)
* Anything not specifically mentioned above

Airfare is included. Highland Support Project will make travel arrangements between the United States and Guatemala.

Experience Required

yes

Students must have at least a minimum 2.0 GPA in order to participate in the VCU summer study abroad program. Applicants may be interviewed to determine the extent to which they are interested in the course themes and in conducting the community-level service work with the Highland Support Project. Preference will be given to juniors, seniors and graduate students in the Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. A student's GPA may be taken into account but will not be the sole determining factor. 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.

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participants.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Group living
• Other

Participants Travel

in Groups

Typically Participants Work

in Groups of 10-15

Application Process Involves

• Essay
• Online Application plus Application Assessment
• Written Application

Typically The Application Process Time is

2-4 weeks

Post Services Include

• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Re-Entry Debriefing at Home

Year Founded

1838