GLC 133

Cultures of Central America & the Caribbean
GLC 133 (1-3 credit hours)
Instructor: Kevin Patton

Field course with a focus on the cultures of Central America and the Caribbean (including the Carribean rim). Experiential approach that combines study tours (or study abroad programs) of various related sites with readings, films, writing assignments, and/or other activities. Specific course objectives, strategies, and evaluation procedures defined in individual learning agreement for each student in consultation with the instructor.

To develop students’ abilities to understand the moral and ethical values of a diverse society and to understand that many courses of action are guided by value judgments about the way things ought to be. Students should be able to make informed decisions through identifying personal values and the values of others and through understanding how such values develop. They should be able to analyze the ethical implications of choices made on the basis of these values.

Students completing this course will have experiences in a modern Central American/Caribbean culture and be able to articulate the lessons learned by interaction with that culture (or cultures). Students will explore the cultural contexts of the regions visited and apply that to their travel experience through specific learning activities (described below). Students will express in writing (or other medium) how their travel experiences and other learning experiences in the course challenge or reinforce their personal belief systems and attitudes and the belief systems and attitudes of the student’s native culture. Students will observe and record characteristics of contemporary Central American/Caribbean culture and offer opinions as to what historical and modern events or facts affect those characteristics.

Additional learning goals for this course may be optionally added in an individual Learning Agreement in consultation with the instructor. These optional goals help focus the course through the lens of an individual student's goals in taking this course.

Students will consult with the instructor prior to, during, and/or after the study tour travel experience to organize the specific learning activities that are attempted (outlined below). The student is responsible for carrying out the learning components and meeting the objectives of the course. All evidence of completion of course activities/objectives must be submitted to the instructor in time for evaluation, grading, and reporting to the SCC Registrar. Failure to complete all course requirements in time for grading (that is, one week before grades are due in the Registrar’s Office) will result in an “Incomplete” grade (I). An I grade automatically becomes “F” if the course is not completed by the end of the following academic term.

Although flexibility and creativity in learning is encouraged and rewarded in this course, it is important that the student work in consultation with the instructor when organizing how the learning goals will be met.

Specific learning components and expectations are outlined below. Students attempting one credit hour must complete the requirements outlined for “First Credit Learning.” Students attempting two credit hours must complete both “First Credit Learning” and “Second Credit Learning” requirements. Students attempting three credit hours must complete all listed learning components. Students taking this course should expect to do most, if not all, of their reading and other non-travel learning activities outside the time of the tour (that is, before and/or after the tour).

Students should consult the SCC catalog, SCC student handbook, and other official documents of for other policies and procedures related to SCC courses and student expectations.

Credit One Learning:

Study tour journal

Typed transcript of a daily journal recorded by the student during the study tour. Standard American English grammar and spelling is expected (except allowance for “poetic license”)
Journal records activities of each day.
Journal records general and specific impressions of places, people, and experiences encountered.
Journal includes reactions of the student in the context of the “valuing/judgment” objectives cited above.
Where possible, the journal should include words/phrases, concepts, symbols, and behaviors encountered that are foreign to the student’s native culture.
Journal may include illustrations, graphs, samples.

Study tour participation

Student will attend all on-campus preview meetings before the study tour (excused absences may be made up by arrangement with instructor).
Student will participate in appropriate group activities during the study tour, including guided tours, narrated drives and walks, and other learning activities.

Independent learning

Student will explore one topic related to Central American or Caribbean culture.
The topic may be explored by reading a group of articles, a book, a film, or other mode of exploration—chosen in consultation with and as approved by the instructor.
Student will submit a two-page essay (typed, double spaced, 12pt Time font, 1-inch margins) expressing personal reactions to the topic as presented in the medium chosen in (b) above. The context of the essay should be the objectives cited above.
Instead of (c) above, the student may submit evidence of learning in another format or medium such as video, literary expression, oral discussion, etc., with prior approval by the instructor.

Credit Two Learning:

All of the above learning components, plus the following.
Journal Summary

Student will submit a two-page essay (typed, double spaced, 12pt Time font, 1-inch margins) expressing a thoughtful synthesis and interpretation/conclusion of the study tour journal cited in (1) above. The context of the essay should be the objectives cited above.
The journal summary may be alternatively presented by the student in the form of another medium (e.g., film, poetry, performance, art) with the prior approval of the instructor.

Independent learning

Student will explore one additional topic related to Central American or Caribbean culture.
The topic may be explored by reading a group of articles, a book, a film, or other mode of exploration—chosen in consultation with and as approved by the instructor.
Student will submit a two-page essay (typed, double spaced, 12pt Time font, 1-inch margins) expressing personal reactions to the topic as presented in the medium chosen in (b) above. The context of the essay should be the objectives cited above.
Instead of (c) above, the student may submit evidence of learning in another format or medium such as video, literary expression, oral discussion, etc., with prior approval by the instructor.

Credit Three Learning:

All of the above learning components, plus the following.
Bibliography (annotated listing of books/films) that identifies books read, films viewed, and music listened to that relates directly to the historical, cultural, and valuing components of the course and related specifically to the Celtic regions visited in the study tour.
Project Demonstrating Learning (PDL)

This is a project that in some way synthesizes much of what was learned in the course.
The PDL can take any form: a written paper or essay, an annotated photo album/scrap book, a performance or film, a literary work such as a poem, an annotated/illustrated time line or map, a poster presentation, a 3D model, or other medium, with the prior approval of the instructor.
The PDL should address some or all of the objectives listed above for the course.
The PDL may incorporate elements of the other learning components, but must also stand alone as an independent work.
The PDL may be produced by more than one student in the same course (with prior permission), but must demonstrate participation and learning by all parties involved.

Additional (optional) Learning Components:

Additional learning components may be optionally added in consultation with the instructor in order to better fit with an individual student's learning goals.

Students will submit a brief, typed “Statement of Completion” in which they list all learning components and state how each relates to the goals of the course. This listing will be in an outline format and will be concise and complete.

The instructor will assess and evaluate all learning components, including tour participation, course participation, and evidence of course requirements in light of the stated course goals and institutional expectations for learning. The instructor will assign a letter grade based on these criteria:

Based on feedback from previous students, we have found that a list of examples and suggestions of topics and resources such as books and films can help you choose topics and resources that will help you in this course.

The SCC Library staff can help you find these works and MANY others (including other media such as encyclopedias and web sources) that might interest you and be useful for this course.

Students sign a Learning Agreement (Syllabus) and agree that its contents will be the scope and nature of this course and that any significant deviations from this agreement will only be with the prior approval of the instructor.