Latin American Indigenous Language Summer Programs 2021

University of Utah Nahuatl Language & Culture Program
FLAS Eligible

Location: If circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic permit, the program will take place on the University of Utah Campus. If circumstances won’t permit in-person learning, the program will be offered via synchronous learning trough Zoom and Canvas

Dates: June 21-August 6, 2021

Program Summary: The Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Utah, in partnership with IDIEZ (the Instituto de Docencia e Investigación Etnológica de Zacatecas, Mexico) is offering the opportunity to study Classical and Modern forms of Nahuatl at the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels. Students will have class for at least five hours per day, Monday through Friday which will include a combination of class and small group instruction, cultural activities and presentations, and tutoring with native Nahuatl speakers. Instruction is offered by highly trained native-language speakers and provides students with a solid foundation in Nahuatl, a Uto-Aztecan language spoken in Mexico, along with meaningful cultural activities.

The University of Utah has a rich history of Nahuatl studies that includes the English translation and publication of the Florentine Codex by Charles Dibble and Arthur Anderson. The UU Marriott Library’s collection of facsimiles of Meso-American Codices is among the most important in the United States. The course is open to UU students, faculty, community members, and the public at large.
The course seeks to: 1) develop students’ oral comprehension, speaking, reading, writing as well as their cultural wisdom and sensibility, in order to communicate effectively, correctly and creatively in everyday situations; 2) provide students with instruments and experiences that demonstrate the continuity between past and present Nahua culture, through the study of colonial and modern texts and conversation with native speakers; and 3) penetrate into the historical, economic, political, social and cultural aspects of Nahua civilization.

Students who complete this intensive language course will be awarded 6-8 credits (8 credits for beginner and intermediate and 6 credit for advanced), equivalent to two semesters of intensive coursework.

Cost: $5,000. If the program is held in person room and board options are available through the University of Utah but are not included in the $5,000 tuition. Some partial tuition assistance is available (see below). FLAS & Other Financial Assistance: We make every effort to ensure that financial constraints are not an obstacle for participating in the Summer Nahuatl Language program by providing FLAS fellowships and other partial tuition scholarships. University of Utah undergraduate students may apply for Summer Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships for study at the intermediate or advanced level; and UU graduate students may apply for a Summer FLAS fellowship for all levels. (https://latin-american-studies.utah.edu/flas/). The UU will offer a very limited number of FLAS Fellowships to students from other U.S. universities, but if possible non-UU Students should also apply for a FLAS fellowship at their home institution. (For FLAS specific questions please contact Patrick Cheney.)

Program Website

Application: Applications received by the April 30th deadline will be given preferential enrollment. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis after the April 30th deadline until all spots are filled. Students are encouraged to apply before April 30th as space may be limited after this date. Students applying for FLAS fellowships should also complete the Summer Nahuatl Program Application as soon as possible to secure preferential enrollment. Completing the online summer Nahuatl application does not commit the student to attend the program should their circumstances change or if FLAS or other funding isn’t awarded but is crucial in securing preferential enrollment.

Contact: If you have questions about applications, the curriculum, or on-campus housing and meals, please contact Kari Moore and Brisa Zavala at summernahuatl@utah.edu. For FLAS specific questions please contact Patrick Cheney. (patrick.cheney@utah.edu)

Summer Intensive Zapotec Language School in Oaxaca, Mexico!
Center for Latin American Studies, San Diego State University
FLAS Eligible

Dates: June 20, 2021-July 30, 2021

Location: Oaxaca, Mexico

Program Summary: This intensive program is taught by native Isthmus Zapotec speaker and linguist Tomas Villalobos Aquino through the Casa de la Cultura in Juchitán. The course offers 140 hours of class instruction over a six-week period. Participants will be fully immersed in the culture and language through homestays with Zapotec speaking families, this may be subject to change. Intermediate Spanish proficiency is required to participate.

Tuition & Fees:
$5,000 includes SDSU tuition and some course materials.

Application & Deadline:
See the program website for instructions.

Contact: Desseray Reyes,
Study Abroad Coordinator: classtdy@sdsu.edu

Andes and Amazon Field School: Ecuadorian Kichwa, Achuar, and Wao Tededo Language Programs
University of Wisconsin at Madison, Florida International University, University of Pittsburgh
FLAS eligible

Location: Napo Province Ecuador.
COVID contingency plans: In the event that health conditions continue to make travel impossible we will connect to the Ecuadorian Amazonian over zoom as we did in the summer of 2020

Dates: June 13-July 24, 2021 (six weeks)

Program Summary: Amazonian Kichwa is taught in English by Professors Tod D. Swanson, (Arizona State University), Janis B. Nuckolls (Brigham Young University) Armando Muyulema, (University of Wisconsin at Madison) and Nely Shiguango. The Achuar and Waorani programs are taught in Spanish by native speaker instructors under the English language supervision of Tod Swanson. Each program offers 140 hours of intensive classroom instruction to meet the requirements of the US Department of Education. Students are evaluated upon entry and again upon completion of the course using the IRIS testing instruments provided by the USDE. All students receive grades for courses.

Using the language as a lens students receive a grounding in the Amazonian social relation to nature and cultural thinking about the environment from top experts in the field. The class frequently goes into the forest with Kichwa speakers to learn about plants and animals from traditional elders. Origin stories and songs to species are recorded in Kichwa and translated in class. As ability in Kichwa improves students formulate their own research questions in Kichwa. Students make lasting contacts with native communities for future dissertation work. Life changing for many. 195 FLAS Fellows from 40 Universities have attended since 2000. Textbook: Janis Nuckolls and Tod Swanson, Amazonian Quichua Language and Life: Introduction to grammar, ecology and discourse. Lexington Books, 2020.

Applications: Please email or call Tod D. Swanson, tod.dillon.swanson@gmail.com
480 276-5913 (just call no appointment needed).

We accept all FLAS Fellows. Students from FLAS granting institutions should apply for FLAS through their home institutions by the date on your Center for Latin American Studies website. Students from other universities may apply for FLAS for our program through Florida International University (deadline January 1, 2021) and the University of Wisconsin at Madison (deadline February 15).

Cost: $7500 (broken down as academic program fee: $5000 + room & board: $2500. If the program is held virtually students keep the $2500 stipend)

Program Website

Contact: Tod Swanson, PhD
Director, Andes and Amazon Field School
tod.dillon.swanson@gmail.com Cell: 480-276-5913

Intensive Summer Quechua Virtual Program
Centro Tinku (Cusco) and University of Michigan
FLAS-Eligible

Dates: June 12-August 6, 2021

Program location: Virtual

Program Description: Now in its 18th year, the Centro Tinku Intensive Quechua Program offers a unique way of learning Quechua, the main indigenous language of Peru, to students and scholars interested in Andean cultures.

Directed to students in Anthropology, History, Linguistics, Archaeology, Public Health, Environmental Studies, and other relevant disciplines, the program consists of seven weeks of intensive, highly individualized virtual classroom work and workshops at elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels. Our experienced instructors are native Quechua speakers trained in education and language instruction.

Our institution Centro Tinku is an educational and cultural center funded in 2003, and dedicated to cultural and academic exchanges, and the elaboration and execution of Study Abroad courses and Faculty-led programs in collaboration with US and European higher education institutions. Cusco (Peru) was once the capital of the Inca Empire, and birthplace to one of the most successful ancient American cultures. Quechua is the language of the Incas, which was used as a vehicle of communication at the time of the expansion of their empire, and lengua franca during the colonial period. Today, in the Andean region more than 4 million people still Quechua as their first language, from Southern Colombia in the North to Bolivia, Argentina and Chile in the South. This course will center on the modern Quechua of the Southern Peruvian Andes, as it is spoken today in Cusco.

We believe that the knowledge of Quechua is essential for the training of researchers in the Humanities and the Social Sciences, planning to do research in the Andes.

During the summer program, through a series of media, students will be invited to participate to cultural activities related to language and cultural acquisition, including interaction with Quechua speakers, learning of traditional songs, virtual visits to indigenous communities, and participation in rituals corresponding to the Andean calendar of fiestas. This cultural immersion, coupled with a total of 140 in-class contact hours, effectively guarantees a path to linguistic fluency over the various levels offered. It is expected that upon completion of the program, students can continue studying Quechua in the academic year through our in-house Quechua online program and/or enroll in our presential and virtual Intensive Quechua program in the following years.

Program Application

Cost: $3250. Centro Tinku also offers 50% scholarships on tuition costs to Latin American students not eligible for other funding.

Contact: Dr. Jean-Jacques Decoster
decoster@centrotinku.com
Website: www.centrotinku.com