June 2 -- July 1, 2012

CREDIT FOR STUDY AT CEMANAHUAC

Students may receive undergraduate or graduate credit for successful completion of this professional workshop.

 

 

	Working with Mexicans: A Workshop for Social Workers, Teachers, Counselors, and Other Professionals - Boise State University

 

Back by popular request, the professional workshop “Working with Mexicans” will be offered again during summer 2012. The course will be structured as a full four-week program, with two weeks being held in the colonial city of Cuernavaca and the second two weeks at the Cemanahuac’s Rural Studies Program in Buenavista de Cuellar (State of Guerrero). A 2- week module will be available in Cuernavaca. The workshop can be taken for 2-4 graduate or undergraduate credits or multiple CEUs.

 

Workshop coordination and leadership will be provided by Boise State University School of Social Work professor James Knapp. Jim is fluent in Spanish, with a BA in Spanish and MS in Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language. Jim is Practicum Director for the School of Social Work and teaches in the areas of clinical practice, diversity and cultural competency. He has extensive experience leading international programs for students and professionals.

Immersion Spanish: In Cuernavaca and Buenavista participants will take 20 hours per week of immersion Spanish taught by experienced Mexican instructors from the Cemanahuac Educational Community in classes of no more than 5 students. Placement examinations will help determine Spanish proficiency so that participants are placed in an appropriate class. Immersion Spanish means that only Spanish is spoken in class.

 

Living with Mexican Families: In Cuernavaca and Buenavista participants will learn about family life, practice their Spanish, and experience family gatherings and celebrations. In Mexico City we will stay in a modest central hotel.

 

Field trips led by Charles Goff, Admissions Coordinator and Instructor of Anthropology, Cemanahuac Educational Community, will visit archeological and cultural sites such as Cuicuilco, the Temples of the Sun and the Moon, the Basilica of Guadalupe, Mexico City zocalo, Templo Mayor anthropological museum, Rivera/Orosco/Sigueros murals and botanical gardens. Optional field trips to the silver city Taxco and other locations will also be available.

Readings will include Mexico in Focus, a concise introduction to Mexican history, politics and culture by John Ross; Mexican Lives in which Judith Hellman shares the stories of fifteen diverse Mexicans, putting a human face on the political and economic transformations affecting Mexico today; and Inside Mexico: Living, traveling and doing business in a changing society. In addition, to begin to understand the Spanish conquest of Mexico through the eyes of original Mexicans, we encourage reading an excellent short novel—Song of the Hummingbird, by Graciela Limón. These books will be complemented with selected contemporary articles and reports.

 

For additional information, syllabus and application forms contact Professor James Knapp <jknapp@boisestate.edu> or call (208) 426-1568. We are looking forward to your participation.

 

Comments from previous participants:

“The moment I got home, I realized that I had changed in a great and powerful way.” (Undergraduate student, social work)

“The course empowered me and made me a believer that retirement does not mean giving up my goals until every door is shut tight.” (Retired nurse)

“I came away from this trip with a better understanding and appreciation of Mexico and its people….I’m so glad I attended the full 4-week course….I am also seriously considering being a host to a foreign student because I now recognize the value of such a cultural exchange.” (Undergraduate student, agriculture)

“I loved this kaleidoscopic crash course on Mexico. Enlarging my world view makes me a better world citizen, another step toward joining the village that raises the world.” (Teacher/homemaker)

“In addition to greater fluency in Spanish and motivation to take a conversation course this fall, in addition to all these experiences—I have a feeling that at some point I will be spending some of the rest of my life living and working, somehow, in Mexico.” (ESL teacher)

“The lessons I have learned…will not only serve me in my future work with Mexican clientele, but have also helped me grow as a person.” The course “helped provide me more accurate information about Mexican immigrants and will help me a better communicator with them.” (Graduate student, public health)