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Outline of the Program

• Curriculum:

  The program will focus on the historical and cultural heritage of Jamaica, as well as on current political and social-economic development trends. Students will be encouraged to read a novel about Jamaica prior to their departure. Other books will be read during the trip. There will be a thematic seminar that will run for a week and a half. A final paper will be required based on prior and subsequent reading materials, the seminar, and study visits to rural areas. In addition, the group willl be divided into two teams responsible for maintaining a team journal based on their collective reflections on the society and their experiences.

• Methodology:

  Lectures/seminares, workshops, and field activites using participatory research methodologies whenever possible.

• Local Presenters:

  Two University of West Indies professors, development practitioners, cultural artists, and rural community leaders.

• Wellesley Faculty and Staff:

  At least one Wellesley faculty from the Africana Studies department will staff the program each year.

• Accommodation:

  Students will live in dormitories at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, during their orientation week in Kingston. Home stays will be arranged while in the rural areas.

• Classroom:

  Social Welfare Training Center, U.W.I. Classes will be held for a week and a half from 9AM to 3PM. The morning session will be devoted to the seminar and the afternoon to workshops, which could include the participaton of students in cultural activities and sight seeing.

• Village Stay:

  One-weekend stay in a remote rural village in Woodside, St. Mary, in the eastern section of the island. Population about 700-1000.

• Woodside Coordinator:

  Dr. Erma Brodher--sociologist, novelist, and lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Social Work at U.W.I. (Currently coordinates the School of International Training)

• Local Organizer:

  Shirley A. Campbell--Academic Director of the College Semester Abroad Program: "Jamaica: Gender and Development" offered by the School of International Training, U.S.A.

• Final Paper and Team Journal:

  Students will be asked to write a 10-page paper after the seminar which follows the rural study visits. The paper will be based on their classroom learning, as well as field research and experiential activities. Students will be allowed to choose specific topics relating to historical, socio-economic, political issues and rural development issues.

• Rough 2001 Wintersession Schedule: