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802.258.3212
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802.258.3388
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Brattleboro, Vermont USA 05302-0676
Bolivia: Lens on Latin America
Program Highlights
Bolivia is a spectacular multicultural country located in the central Andes Mountains. Bolivia has a high proportion of Amerindian inhabitants, including Quechua, Aymara, Guarani, and Mestizo, as well as a mixture of people of Caucasian descent (14%), African descent (0.2%), and other ethnic groups (7%), which provides an incredible opportunity for intercultural learning. With the help of a select group of academics, intellectuals, and host families, students explore firsthand the mysteries of this country's culture, its cosmovision, and the layered growth of its multi-ethnic social system.
At the same time students are immersed in understanding the active social movements of the country. In the classroom and on excursions, students meet and talk to Bolivian leaders making history. You will gain a unique perspective through your opportunities to record in visual media that which you learn about through lectures and excursions.
Media Project
In the last portion of the summer program, students will focus on a media project of their choice. Ethnographic documentary filmmaking is a strong focus for students, supported by classes in production and by the availability of editing equipment. Partnering with a Bolivian film student in producing video footage may be possible for those looking for intercultural production experience.
Documenting Important Topics
Previous student groups have created video documentaries covering the lives, hopes, and difficulties of a girls' orphanage in the city of Cochabamba; working children in one of the poorest mining villages near Oruro; and on the events leading up to the expulsion of the Bolivian president. Students learn the skills that help them portray conditions that go beyond the realm of written word.
These videos have been useful both inside Bolivia as well as back at the students' home environments. Students are able to share their experiences with more people and promote discussion and, if they so choose, continue engaging in social justice work by taking action on the matters treated in the videos.