Programs Description / Language, Culture, and Development in Latin America

Testimonies

Michael Norman

Northeastern University

"...In short, my semester in Costa Rica with ICDS was the most enriching, both culturally and academically, of my college career. I most definitely recommend this experience to any student considering a semester of study abroad..."
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CULTURE, DIVERSITY, AND DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL AMERICA

This course introduces students to contemporary debates over the concept of culture, and explores these debates with case studies. The aim of this course is to promote a better understanding of conceptual, historical and contemporary components of ethnicity, race, culture and different forms of discrimination, beyond racial aspects, highlighting relevant issues being debated and documenting the challenges each country, the region and its different peoples face in the process of addressing and achieving higher levels of Sustainable Human Development. This seminar-style course relies on intensive participation by all course members. Activities include class discussions, audio-visual presentations, class trips, and student-led discussions.

LATIN AMERICAN: A MIRROR OF REALITY THROUGH FILM

Film not only entertains, it contributes to the creation and circulation of culture as well as national and regional images and identities, and it portrays and analyzes social problems. Its images and sounds provide an immediacy that written media cannot, making it one of the most accessible forms of cultural diffusion. Thus, film literacy is an important skill in our visual and information-saturated world. This interdisciplinary course seeks to review and analyze the complexity and richness of Latin American culture and history using films as a vehicle to facilitate students´ understanding. The films selected will provide social, historical and ideological frameworks to study the changes which have taken place in contemporary Latin America. The course is a seminar, encouraging student participation and discussion.

SPANISH LANGUAGE

During the first week of classes, students will complete a Spanish placement exam, according to which they will be placed in the appropriate level Spanish class. Class levels range from introductory to advanced Spanish. All course levels meet for 60 hours during the term, or 6 hours a week. The three main course levels each have two sublevels, resulting in a total of 6 levels (Basic I and II, Intermediate I and II, and Advanced I and II).