Both Guatemala and the neighboring state of Chiapas, Mexico are lands of stunning physical beauty, cultural diversity, and stark socio-economic contrasts. With its population comprised of 23 ethnic groups—some 22 indigenous Mayan linguistic groups and the economically and politically dominant ladinos—Guatemala has long been known for its rich local cultural traditions. But it is also marked by extreme inequalities and poverty. Today, after decades of a brutal civil war, Guatemalans struggle to build a nation based on the multilingual and pluricultural principles mandated by the 1996 Peace Accords.

In many ways the cultural history of Chiapas is similar to Guatemala’s. It too is known for vibrant indigenous cultures and glaring inequalities between its many Mayan peoples and the dominant ladinos. Yet the recent struggles for indigenous rights here, after the Zapatista Army of National Liberation mounted an insurrection in 1994 that gained international attention, also differs from Guatemala’s. In the same year that Guatemala signed its Peace Accords, a treaty was signed in San Andres, Chiapas between the Zapatistas and the Mexican government, and although there have been many setbacks there are also signs of hope in Mexico’s construction of a pluricultural society and transition to democracy after 71 years of single party rule.

Through coursework and independent research, this program provides students with the opportunity to examine issues of cultural empowerment, community development and social change in Guatemala, as that nation’s people attempt to come to terms with the pressing concerns of poverty, extreme inequality, and human rights abuses of the past, and build a multi-ethnic society.

The program is based in the western highland city of Quetzaltenango. Known as Xelajú (or simply Xela), Quetzaltenango is a major center for the K’iche people, and Guatemala’s second-largest city. During the first three weeks of the program, students will travel to Quetzaltenango, where they will live with families, participate in program seminars, and prepare their independent field projects.

The following four weeks will be devoted to the student’s independent field research projects. Students will live with families in the western highland communities in which they carry out their field projects. The field sites provide opportunities for research on topics such as sustainable development and conservation, women’s issues, human rights work, the role of religion in community development and empowerment, ecotourism, and other topics. In most cases, students will pursue individual projects; however, collaborative research projects will also be possible.

Students will then return to Quetzaltenango to finish analyzing their field research material, write their research papers, and present their work to the group as a whole.

The program will include travel to neighboring Chiapas, Mexico, to meet with community leaders and others involved in the struggle for indigenous rights and social justice in that region. This part of the seminar will provide an important comparative case for the coursework and research students will carry out in Guatemala.

This program is offered in collaboration with the Center for Global Education at Augsburg College.

FACULTY DIRECTOR

Jerome Levi, Associate Professor of Anthropology

Jay Levi led Carleton’s first “Social and Cultural Field Research Seminar in Guatemala” in winter 2006 and was the Director of Latin American Studies from 2003 to 2006. He has taught at Carleton since 1993 and conducted ethnographic research on Mesoamerica for nearly three decades, initially focusing on the Tzotzil Maya in the Chiapas highlands and later on the Tarahumara (Rarámuri) of southwest Chihuahua. His teaching and research interests are in the areas of indigenous rights, the anthropology of religion, ethnicity, economic and environmental anthropology. He recently served as the Editor for Mesoamerican Ethnology for the Library of Congress’s Handbook of Latin American Studies, and contributed to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures.