A UMass – Living Routes Partnership offers
a course in
Leadership for Social Change at
Huehuecoyotl, Mexico
…more formerly known as HONORS 397 I
“International Community Service
Learning in Mexico – Participatory Leadership: Consensus, Conflict and
Community”
Living Routes Inc., an educational non-profit based in Amherst, MA
with programs throughout the world, will manage applications for this unique
opportunity. Academic credit is offered
through the Honors Program of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Commonwealth
College and the UMass International Programs Office. The details….
Dates: January 3 – 21, 2005 (tentative - confirm with Living Routes)
Brief Course Description: Study abroad in Mexico and learn the skills needed to bring a
group together around a common vision and effect positive change. Working with
"usos y costumbres"
(traditional ways of doing things), students assess, design and complete
a community service project. Located in the volcano belt of central Mexico,
Huehuecoyotl was founded 20 years ago by an international group of artists and
musicians, activists and ecologists. Join faculty from around the world,
including John Gerber.
Course Topics: Introduction to Consensus, Basic
Facilitation Skills, Participatory Democracy in the context of Mexico's
Political and Social History, Spanish Language (optional)
Field Study: Visit sites dating from the Aztec empire,
the Spanish conquest, the Mexican Revolution and the contemporary fight against
globalism.
Community Project: A service learning
project in Huehuecoyotl to be organized with local community members.
Language: The
course will be taught in English, but there will be lots of opportunity to
practice (or learn) Spanish.
Application:
Contact Living Routes for
information on how to apply for this course, costs, travel info etc.
Academic Credit: Earn 4 transferable credits through the
University of Massachusetts Amherst.
For more on this course, you may read the syllabus here.
And some related web links:
Living Routes – http://www.livingroutes.org/
Tepoztlan - http://www.tourbymexico.com/morelos/tepoztla/tepofram.htm
Huehuecoyotyl - http://www.laneta.apc.org/rem/huehue.htm
(partly in Spanish)
Zapatistas - http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR994/
Permaculture at Huehuecoyotyl - http://www.oasisdesign.net/design/examples/huehue.htm