Tulane returns to Latin America for summer programs abroad

In the summer of 2022, 48 students and 19 K-12 educators explored Latin America through study abroad and professional development programming organized by the Stone Center for Latin American Studies. After two summers online, students, faculty, and educators were excited to return to in-person and on-site programs in Latin America.

Graduate and undergraduate students returned to Brazil for intensive Portuguese language instruction, homestays in São Paulo, and CET courses for Tulane credit. The Mayan Language Institute brought students from across the U.S. to Iximulew (Guatemala) for intensive Kaqchikel and K’iche’ Maya language study in an indigenous community setting. Finally, the Stone Center’s new program, Summer in Panama, provided an opportunity for undergraduate students to live and study in Ciudad del Saber, an educational and research community outside of Panama City. They took courses in both English and Spanish and participated in field trips in and around the capital as well as excursions to important cultural and historical sites such as the Panama Canal and the cradle of Afro-Panamanian culture in Portobelo.

The Stone Center’s focus on providing annual summer K-12 educator professional development came full circle this summer. In partnership with the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies at Vanderbilt University and the Latin American & Caribbean Studies Institute at the University of Georgia, the Stone Center hosted a summer institute for K-12 educators in Panama. The institute provided pedagogical training to help educators incorporate new content, with a particular emphasis on Central America, people and the environment, into their curricula.

All of the Stone Center’s summer programs are designed to bring participants closer to the region’s politics, society, history, language, and culture through intensive class work and stimulating explorations outside of the classroom.

Check out the photos below to explore Latin America through our participants! 

  Educators at work in a classroom at the Fundación ProEd. Photo courtesy of Denise Woltering Vargas. Educators from across the U.S. hike to a coffee farm administered by the Canal Zone. Photo courtesy of Denise Woltering Vargas. The K-12 educator group enjoying Isla Grande, in Colón Panama. Photo courtesy of Denise Woltering Vargas. Welcome Dinner for the 2022 K-12 Educator Institute. Photo courtesy of Denise Woltering Vargas. Summer abroad students in Panamá Viejo, the oldest European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. Photo courtesy of Sheccid Rodriguez. Tulane undergraduate students hard at work in Ciudad del Saber, Panamá. Photo courtesy of Carolina Caballero. Summer abroad students exploring different communities and environments across Panamá. Photo courtesy of Carolina Caballero. Group photo of the wonderful Summer in Panamá 2022 cohort, enjoying their time together and making memories. Photo courtesy of Carolina Caballero. Students studying K'iche' through the Mayan Language Institute enjoy lunch with their teachers at La R.E.D. K'at in Quetzaltenango. Photo courtesy of Hannah Palmer. Kaqchikel-language students on the MLI take an excursion with their teachers to the local market in Antigua.  Photo courtesy of Yabun Chanquin Cuma. K'iche' students escape the bustle of Quetzaltenango on an excursion to the neighboring community of Zunil. Photo courtesy of Emily Taylor. Kaqchikel students and teachers enjoy the view from their rooftop classroom in Ciudad Vieja. Photo courtesy of Yabun Chanquin Cuma. Group photo from students in São Paulo. Photo courtesy of Zoe Yates. Students enjoying summer in Brazil programming. Photo courtesy of Zoe Yates.

 

Students walking in São Paulo. Photo courtesy of Megwen Loveless. Students leaping over the São Paulo skyline. Photo courtesy of Max Courval.​​​​