Field School

The University of Calgary’s Field Schools in Latin America are designed to offer the students a first hand cultural and academic experience with Latin America, to broaden their horizons and provide an information base to those interested in other cultures, Spanish, humanities, archaeology, international relations, political science, history, sociology, geography and development.

For three decades the Latin American Field Schools have provided undergraduate students the opportunity to study about Latin America in situ under the tutelage of the University of Calgary and in the company of our University professors. The courses offered are regular University of Calgary credit courses which lend themselves to the opportunity to teach the students with direct experiential and contextual material, in addition to the use of conventional sources. Usually, these courses include Spanish, Archaeology, History, Geography, Anthropology and Latin American Studies. In addition, courses have been offered from Tourism, Development Studies, Social Work, Biology and Education. The field school is based on the premise that increasing familiarity and mutual knowledge will provide a strong basis for successful collaborative endeavours, and it focuses on developing language and cultural skills among the participants.

Participation in the Field Schools provides students with a rich, challenging environment in which the “experiential learning” process can take place. This process (as described by Kolbe) involves a transformation of concrete experiences and observations, through a process of reflection, to a level of abstract conceptualization and comprehension. Few students have had this type of learning experience before attending our schools. Most professors who have participated in the Field Schools would agree that it provides an intensive and stimulating learning environment in which the students learn as much about Canada and Canadian culture (and themselves) as they do about Latin America. This then provides the basis for the development of intercultural skills, which is another fundamental component of the field schools experience, especially in the Latin American Studies courses. The courses carry, at the same time, an important academic content, which provides the basis for students to continue their studies in Spanish, Latin American cultural History, Anthropology, Archaeology and so on. The Latin American Studies Field Schools clearly helps many students to identify areas of academic interest, in the context of globalization, and to energetically and successfully pursue such interests. The two main thrusts of the school are the international and intercultural skills developed through the guided process of reflection on the experience, and the development of skills relating to primary research.

More Information

Pictures: Top right: Students at English Training Centre, Puebla Mexico ; Bottom left: Students at lecture in Guadalajara, Mexico