Course design: The central focus of the travel seminar to Guatemala and El Salvador will be an examination of alternative development models. Development is meant in a comprehensive sense and includes economic, political, environmental, social, cultural and religious development. The trip will represent an opportunity to observe first-hand the nature and extent of development that Guatemala and El Salvador have experienced following 500 years of Western influence. Development is likely to occur in a different manner in a country that is at peace than in one that is in a state of war. As the decades long war in Guatemala winds down, are there useful lessons to be learned from El Salvador's five year experiment with peace?

An equally important focus is on the role of women in the development process in these two countries.

What conditions must exist for women to break out of the traditional roles that have been in place for centuries? We will have a number of opportunities to visit communities where the tension between these traditional roles and more progressive roles for women are quite evident.

Among the important issues we wish to consider are:

· What historical forces have led to the development experienced in each country today? .How would you describe the development that exists in each country?

· Given the existing distribution of land, income, and wealth in the countries, is the development path chosen sustainable?

· Are there adequate resources to support the development process without further degradation of the environment?

· Who controls the political process and the means of production? (Do women play any role here?)

· Is there any degree of equality among competing groups in society as a result of the development path chosen? Ifnot, why not?

· Do all groups feel that the Western development path is even desirable? If not, then what might such groups envision for themselves as a society if they could somehow disentangle from the controlling forces? What would it take to actually disentangle?

· What role does the U.S. and other countries play in determining current development choices?

· What role does the church play?

· What is the role of women in the development process? In other words, to what extent are women empowered to participate fully in important societal decisions? Assuming that there exists less than complete participation, what changes are necessary and possible to implement that would improve the condition of women?

· Is the status of women similar among all groups in each of the societies? Explain.

· With regard to all of the above issues, what are the differences, as well as similarities, between Guatemala and El Salvador?

· El Salvador completed its peace accords in 1992. Guatemala may not be too far away from doing the same thing. Are there any lessons Guatemala could learn from El Salvador regarding the right and wrong ways to proceed down the path of peaceful development?

It is anticipated that you will gain insight into all of these issues (and more) over the course of the trip as we meet with various groups from all walks of life. Each visit with a government official, women's sewing co-op, labor union, indigenous family, and so on, will act as a substitute for time otherwise spent in the class room.

The following list constitutes required reading prior to departure:

· Barry, Tom, Inside Guatemala

· Montgomery, Tommie Sue, Revolution in El Salvador

· .Menchu, Rigoberta, I Rigoberta Menchu

· .Harbury, Jennifer, Bridge of Courage

· Center for Global Education (CGE) pre-trip reading packet

Assignments:

1. While on the trip I expect you to maintain a daily journal. In this, I would like to see a summary of the day' events as they pertain to the theme of the trip. I might mention that it is not necessary to attend a meeting or have a fom1al visit to a community to assess the development scene. Suppose we have a half-day of time to relax or shop. Pay careful attention to events in the market place. What is being sold? Who is selling it? Find out who made it, where they obtained their materials, and of particular interest, how long did it take to make, vis-à-vis the selling price. The bottom line is that issues of development will lay before your eyes at every waking moment, from the potholes our bus hits to the beggars on the street to the racial composition of the military, and so on. Head out each day with your eyes open and your brain turned to the "full capacity" setting. In your journal entries, I would like for you to make note of your feelings and impressions as to what you are experiencing, in addition to your academic observations.

I would like a copy of your journal within two weeks of our return. You may give it to me before we leave or you may sort out the details and then mail or fax it to me. I should emphasize that I want each day's entry written on that particular day, while the infom1ation is fresh, not 2 weeks later. Your journal will constitute one-third of your grade.

2. The remaining assignments involve research papers centered around our basic development theme. I would like for the first of the two to compare and contrast the nature of development in Guatemala and El Salvador. I am leaving this open ended, but expect a rigorous analysis that addresses most of the above questions listed under course design. In the second, I would like for you to compare and contrast the situation in the two countries as far as the role of women in development.

Each paper should be typed and be in the neighborhood of 7-1 O pages. In addition to content, I will grade o the basis of the quality of your writing. Feel free to use any of the reading materials listed in either this syllabus or in the syllabus of the spring pre-requisite course. Moreover, this is an opportunity to test your creative writing skills. You will have had two weeks of first-hand observations on the themes of your essays. Think about what this means--you will be part of a tiny percentage of people in this country who have ever set foot in these two countries. You will be in a rare position to assess for the conditions in Guatemala and El Salvador yourselves (rather than be dependent upon what other "experts" have to say). Feel free to layout your own thoughts and observations about the nature of development and the role of women on the basis of what you ha, seen with your own eyes, not just what someone else has written in a book from a library. The only thing I ask is that what you write reflect a sophisticated understanding of development theory, as discussed in the literature and that your analysis has a proper historical context (with appropriate citations, etc.).

These two papers will each represent one-third of your overall grade.

Special note: Some of you may conclude that it is impossible to write a paper on development in these two countries that is" separate from the particular issue of women's roles in development-that the concepts are too intertwined. If you would prefer to combine the two topics into a single paper, that is fine with me. Simply double the length of the paper (approximately).

Participation: While the travel schedule is likely to be very tiring, both mentally and physically, I expect ever one to participate in every activity, including our daily reflections, unless you have totally succumbed to la turista. Your grade will reflect the extent of your participation.

Like the spring semester pre-requisite course, one of the requirements for this trip is an open mind. As the opening quote suggests, "the world should not be the way it is." This seems especially true in the case of Guatemala and El Salvador. That grinding poverty, hunger and oppression can exist in places of such unparalleled beauty will be a constant source of consternation for most of you. Something that will help you 1 better understand the situation down there is to attempt to follow the advice of the author of the above quote, Robert McAfee Brown, who suggests that we must try to "see the world through eyes other than our own, through the eyes of the poor and the dispossessed, the eyes of the starving and despairing." Furthermore, he says, we must "listen to the world through voices other than our own, the voices of the oppressed who are despairing and angry and strident." (Brown, Making Peace in the Global Village, p.22)