Learn about indigenous and post-colonial culture in the mountain village of Tepoztlan, Mexico and surroundings, including history, political and economic issues, architecture, art, literature, and mythology.

Lesley University, Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences, Division of Interdisciplinary Inquiry. 3 to 6 credits for advanced undergraduates or graduate students.

Course Description:

Students in this ten-day course will immerse themselves in the heritage and culture of the small city of Tepoztlan (pop. 15,000), Mexico and surrounding villages, in collaboration with the Cetlalic Center for Language and Cultural Immersion. The course blends study of the region’s inhabitants, land, and history, with an eye to relations among indigenous/Indian peoples and the larger population of “Mestizos,” descendents of Spanish settlers.

Students will gain knowledge of the politics and economic situation of the region. They will learn about the region’s architecture (including pyramids), art, literature, and mythology, relying on readings, local experts, Lesley University faculty and home-stay families. Home-stays are an important component of the course, enabling students to experience Tepoztlan culture within the intimacy of a family setting.

To enhance their learning, and as an integral part of the cultural immersion, students will participate in Intensive Spanish language instruction, held in the morning and geared to their current level of proficiency in conversation, reading, and writing. Fluent Spanish students will have the opportunity to pursue their discipline in Spanish. Bi-lingual home-stay families will provide informal opportunities for students to practice speaking Spanish.

Students will engage in field trips and lectures, and complete a research project designed to focus on a particular area of interest. The program will include lecturers and guest speakers, including local historians, artists, and community activists, as well as expert field guides for excursions to such sites as the birthplace of the mythical Aztec God, the Plumed Serpent Quetzacoatl, and local museums such as the Regional Museum of Anthropology and the Ethnobotanical Gardens in Cuernavaca. Lecture topics and excursions are presented in more detail in the daily itinerary, below.

Students will have the opportunity to explore pre-Columbian culture. Many Aztec traditions, customs, and arts originating in the pre-Hispanic period have been carried into the present day. And, importantly, the language of the Aztec Empire, Nahuatl, continues to endure and also serves as a source of pride to México's indigenous peoples. The Nahuatl language is reflected widely in Aztec art, local topography, and names of Aztec gods, such as Quetzacoatal, and the name of a major archeological site, Xochicalco (meaning “House of Flowers” in Nuahatl). Students will become familiar with current controversy over the preservation and present use of Nuahatl, and its recent (2004) introduction into school curricula.

Students will become familiar with some of the differences and similarities between US and Mexican culture, and become aware of mutual cross-cultural perceptions and misperceptions, and perhaps gain understanding of ways to bridge the gap.

Costs:
Lesley graduate and undergraduate students: $TBA plus regular tuition rate

Non-Lesley students welcome.

*For more information:
Professor Nancy Waring, nwaring@lesley.edu

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