Study Abroad: Ecuador
For Spring Break 2018, Dr. Susan Talburt will lead a study abroad program titled, “Gender, Sexuality, and Postcoloniality in Contemporary Ecuador.”
This is a regularly offered study abroad option. This information is from the program description:
Come join us in Ecuador to learn why many Latin American nations are on the cutting edge of transforming human rights agendas regarding sexuality, gender, and indigeneity. Activists, non-profits, and Constitutional reform in Ecuador are creating a vibrant, yet contested, moment of social change, with new discourses, identities, and social movements entering the public sphere. We will bear witness to the politics of everyday life as sexual minorities, indigenous groups, and transgender collectives seek recognition and rights in this contemporary postcolonial context.
Before our travel, we will read about sexuality, gender, indigeneity, and human rights in Latin America and Ecuador. In Quito, we will attend classes (in English) with faculty at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), meet with NGO-based activists and lawyers advocating for LGBTQ issues, tour Quito’s colonial quarter (the largest in Latin America), visit local sights, and enjoy a cooking class. We will take a daytrip to Otavalo, an indigenous market town. We will also travel to the “Middle of the World,” the site of the equator, before spending two nights at an eco-lodge in the Cloud Forest of Mindo, where we can hike, watch butterflies and birds, and learn about a rare biodiverse ecosystem.