Learning in Action: Education for Democracy in Mexico and Beyond

Study in Mexico will take place March 10-19, 2023.*

Please note that this program includes a spring semester course that will meet Mondays and Wednesdays on campus.

*All travel dates are tentative and subject to international travel restrictions.

Course Title: HON-H251: Learning in Action: Education for Democracy in Mexico and Beyond

Academic Director & Instructor: Bradley Levinson

Syllabus Description:

This course engages the scholarly literature on education for democratic citizenship,  with a focus on civil society/non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as vehicles for teaching and learning about democracy. Mexico is used as an in-depth “case study” for democratic citizenship education, with the U.S. and other national contexts also providing examples. This involves interrogating the distinction made between formal education (schools, especially compulsory public schools) and informal education (Family, community, church, peer, media, social movement organizations, etc.). The special emphasis of this course will be on “educational activism,” which we can define initially as having 2 elements: how education occurs in and through activism (social movements, civil society organizations, and other “informal” educational settings), and how groups try to actively change formal education (education reform processes). The bulk of the course will examine different kinds and across the Americas—especially in central Mexico, where we will explore such “learning in action.”

The emphasis in the course is on learning as a form of social practice, that is, a kind of action or activity for solving problems and shaping social outcomes. The course ends with an exploration of some of the most salient and pressing challenges facing societies across the globe, and the many kinds of educational responses such challenges have created. We shall travel to central Mexico over spring break and use it as a kind of “living laboratory” for exploring how a variety of schools and civil society organizations educate their “students.”

• Daily meetings with NGOs and other educational actors
• Cultural and historical visits in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Mexico City and Guanajuato City

Program participants will stay in two different hotels during their stay in Mexico, one in each of the program's host cities. Each hotel was selected in order to provide a combination of convenience, safety, and affordability for the program participants.

Program Fee - $2250*

The program fee includes roundtrip transportation from Bloomington to the airport, roundtrip international flights, airport transfers in country, accommodations in Mexico, all breakfasts, some lunches and dinners, transportation to and from all excursion sites, entry fees to all museums and historical sites, student travel insurance, and administrative fees.

*Program fee is subject to change due to unforeseeable circumstances.

IUB Tuition

If you are enrolled as a full-time student during the spring semester and enroll in HON-H251 as part of your block credits, there is no additional tuition cost to participate in Learning in Action: Education for Democracy in Mexico and Beyond.

Additional Variable Costs

Variable costs are paid before and after you arrive in Mexico as you pay for meals not covered by the program, snacks, souvenirs, and other personal expenses.

Note: The program fee will appear on your bursar bill and is paid directly to IU. See the program fee sheet for more details.

Scholarships

All admitted program participants are awarded an automatic HIEP Hutton Honors Study Abroad Scholarship of $1000 applied directly to the program fee. No separate application is required.

Note: Program participants are not eligible to apply for the HIEP Grant.

Please see the IU Office of Overseas Study website for more information on other available scholarships and financial aid opportunities.

IU OVST Getting Started Handbook

FAQ about COVID-19 Disruption