Location:

Road Town, Virgin Island (British); Multi-Country Programs, Multi-Country Programs; San Juan, United States

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Summer

Program Overview

Program Description:

The Caribbean region can be understood as a fascinating natural laboratory of cultural and ethnic diversity. The Departments of Sociology and Anthropology of UMass Boston, in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico at San Juan and the University of the Virgin Islands, have designed a four-week Caribbean Studies Summer Institute comprised of an integrated set of courses dedicated to the study of the historical, socio-political, and economic structures and processes that have shaped the Caribbean into the culturally complex region it is today. The Institute’s courses will be jointly directed and taught by Jorge Capetillo-Ponce, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Research Associate at the Mauricio Gastón Institute, UMass Boston; Luis Galanes, Professor of Anthropology and Chair of the Social Science Department at University of Puerto Rico at Cayey; and faculty of the University of the Virgin Islands.

The program offers students an interdisciplinary approach integrating sociological, anthropological, and historical perspectives to the study of Caribbean society and culture. Students will be introduced to key social-scientific concepts such as race, ethnicity, nation, culture, and their relevance (or irrelevance) in the attempt to understand Caribbean cultures and identities. Students will learn about the contributions of different ethnic groups to modern Caribbean culture, and examine the processes by which these various contributions were blended and transformed through cultural interactions, taking into account the power relations between groups throughout the colonial, imperial, and post-independence historical periods. Students will also be introduced to the major issues regarding U.S. involvement in the Caribbean. The intent will be to consider the variety of traditions making up Caribbean identity, in particular Afro-Caribbean identities, but also identities based on Hispanic, English, French, Dutch, East Indian, Native Indian, and mestizo heritage, among others, as well as identity issues in countries and regions on the Atlantic coast of Central and South America.

Setting Description:

June 4-14 San Juan, Piñones, Loiza, Cayey June 15-17 Ponce June 17-23 Vieques June 23-26 St. Croix June 26-July 3 St. Thomas July 1 British Virgin Island July 3-4 Carnival at St. John July 5 Return to Puerto Rico and the United States from St. Thomas.

Cost:

The program fee is $4,500 The program fee covers all instruction and academic fees, including entrance fees for museums and archaeological sites, UPRC and UVI campus housing, hotel charges incurred on week-end excursions, three meals per day, and all on-site program-related transport. The program fee does not include textbooks, initial airfare to PR and return to the US at the conclusion of the program nor travel insurance