SATA Mexico 2004

Program Description | Courses | Excursions

SATA Mexico 2004 took place during spring semester at the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico (UDLA), the sixth SATA program at the University, under Faculty Director Professor Aida Heredia, of the Connecticut College Hispanic Studies department. These continuing activities with UDLA have resulted in a strong relationship between the two institutions and UDLA considers Connecticut College to be part of their foreign student program.

Popocatepetl as seen from the Athletic Center on the Universdad de las Americas-Puebla campus.

A group of approximately 15 students participated in this program, of special interest to students in the Hispanic Studies department, with its substantial number of majors and minors.

Students were highly encouraged to take at least three courses in Spanish. Students must have fulfilled the prerequisites to take the courses in the program. For those who enroll with no Spanish background, the University offers courses in English as part of its general curriculum. However, those students are required to take a Spanish language course at the University. A service learning component of the program develops a meaningful and systematic interaction with all of the students.

Two courses were taught by Professor Heredia of Connecticut College. :
SPAN 208 Introduction to Literary Analysis
SPAN 434 Short Stories by Latin American Women Authors

University of the Americas is located two hours southeast of Mexico City. The campus is ten kilometers from Puebla City. Highly ranked among Mexican universities, UDLA has approximately 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students, a full undergraduate college as well as graduate schools of law, business, engineering, and Humanistic Studies, among others. UDLA has agreements with more than 90 universities in 20 countries around the world, such as Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Finland and South Africa.

The University has a campus with excellent dormitories. Students may choose either dorm living or home-stay with a local family. The University has an on-campus health service and students are given a health screening upon arrival. The campus is a safe environment.

One key feature of the SATA Mexico 2004 program was service learning. The office of International Affairs at the University has a professional staff dedicated to establishing and maintaining a relationship between academic learning and service learning. They organized the placement of the students through a combination of the needs of the various communities and the interests of the students. Critical service learning is also a strong component of the Hispanic Studies curriculum at Connecticut College.

The SATA program at UDLA included three field trips, focusing on colonial history, architecture, and indigenous communities. Mexico's rich heritage offers students an opportunity to develop further their academic preparation and deepen their understanding of human societies.

Orientation meetings were held with the SATA participants both in the US and in Mexico to discuss issues of safety, health and ways to avoid unpleasant situations.

At the end of the semester, students wrote an assessment of the various components of the program, including the extent to which they were able to accomplish their academic and personal goals.