[Aztlan] Yucatec Maya 2007 Summer Language Program

Sat Feb 17 14:33:47 CST 2007

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--- Sharon Mujica <smujica at email.unc.edu> wrote:
Below you will find information on the Intensive
Summer Courses in Yucatec Maya sponsored by the
Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean 
Studies at UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University. We are
also attaching our flyer that you can download and
distribute if you wish. FLAS funding is available for
this program. Graduate students who wish to attend and
cannot get funding from their institution, can apply
by March 2 to either UNC Chapel Hill or Duke
University for funding. We will appreciate your help
in letting students know about this program. If 
you have questions, please contact me,

Best regards,

Sharon Mujica

Information on FLAS funding:
http://www.duke.edu/web/carolinadukeconsortium/yucatec_maya/yucatecflas.htm

THE YUCATEC MAYA SUMMER INSTITUTE
Presents

SUMMER INTENSIVE COURSES IN YUCATEC MAYA

June 4 - July 14, 2007

The Yucatec Maya Summer Institute offers both a
beginning and continuing six-week program to teach
modern Yucatec Maya, a living language spoken 
by one million people living in the YucatÃ¡n Peninsula
and northern Belize.

FIELD STUDY
For too many years the YucatÃ¡n has only been known as
a vacation spot teeming with beach-goers. Students in
the Intensive Yucatec Maya Courses will have the
unique opportunity to take a comprehensive look at the
YucatÃ¡n by visiting a range of important historic and
cultural locations. Trips to archeological and
colonial sites as well as other 
Mayan villages are led by Mayan scholars and
anthropologists, who will introduce them to the
cultural importance of each site. Throughout their
stay in the YucatÃ¡n, students may use their free time
to travel to other areas of interest.

MÃ©rida, the beautiful capital of the Mexican state of
YucatÃ¡n, offers its visitors both modern and historic
aspects of city life. MÃ©rida is an excellent base
from which to explore the YucatÃ¡n, close to both
Caribbean beaches and Mayan archeological sites. Santa
Elena is a bilingual town located in the Puuc Region,
ten miles from the ruins of Uxmal. Students from both
levels will be housed in small cabanas during their
stay. Valladolid is a charming historic city and a
wonderful place 
to be based. Xocen, situated twelve kilometers
southeast of Valladolid and about 200 kilometers
southwest of CancÃºn, is located in the milpa 
area of the Mexican state of YucatÃ¡n. Xocen is an
ancient town that played a key role in the Caste War
and was the original home of the Talking Cross. Other
activities may be organized.

LEVEL 1
Weeks 1-2 (University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill) 6 credit hours, 160 contact hours
The program begins with intensive classroom
instruction six hours a day, for two and one half
weeks on the UNC campus followed by a month in 
Mexico.  Throughout the six weeks of the program,
Level I students will receive six hours of intensive
classroom instruction daily.  The course is taught by
Dr. David Mora MarÃn, a Mayanist linguist from the 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  For the
two weeks that Level I students are in Chapel Hill,
they may stay in UNC dormitories, if they wish.
Week 3- MÃ©rida

During the third week of the program, students in
Level I will travel to MÃ©rida where they will stay in
the historic Hotel Caribe in the center of the city. 
There will be free time to explore as well as planned
visits to markets, museums, and other places of
interest.

Week 4 â€“ Santa Elena
Level I students will be in classes in the morning and
the afternoon in order to perfect their beginning
Maya.  They will eat lunch and dinner together in the
â€œrestaurante tÃpicoâ€ el Chaac Mool.  From Santa 
Elena we will visit Uxmal, LabnÃ¡, and Kiwik with
archeologist TomÃ¡s Gallareta of the Instituto
Nacional de AntropologÃa e Historia (INAH).

Week 5 and 6â€“ Valladolid and Xocen
During the final two weeks of the program Level I
students will stay at the Hotel MesÃ³n del Marquez, on
the ZÃ³calo in Valladolid and make daily 
trips into the village of Xocen. In the morning
students will join in the daily activities of Mayan
families in Xocen and attend classes in the evenings. 
While in Xocen, Level I students will carry out a
project proposed earlier in the field study. There
will also be visits to neighboring villages, the
archeological site of Ek Balam, and several cenotes in
the area.  In this small Mayan village the majority of
the villagers and almost all the women only speak
Maya, offering students an 
excellent environment in which to practice their
language skills. Level I students will spend up to 3
hours a day in class and will also work on their
projects.

LEVEL II
Weeks 1-3 (Universidad AutÃ³noma de YucatÃ¡n, MÃ©rida)
6 credit hours, 140 contact hours

This course begins with three weeks of intensive
classroom instruction in MÃ©rida, Mexico.  Students
will attend class six hours a day, five days a week
taught by the linguist Ismael May May, who has over
fifteen years experience teaching Yucatec Maya.
Students will also work with US-based Dr. John Tuxill,
a Yale graduate who took both levels of the 
course himself. The course will incorporate Mayan
texts and literature appropriate to this level. For
the three weeks, Level II students will live with
Mexican host families. The Universidad Nacional
AutÃ³noma de MÃ©xico (UNAM) gives Maya students a new
place to do research, attend lectures, and collaborate
with academics who have similar interests.

Weeks 4 and 5 â€“ Santa Elena
For part of each day, Level II students are placed
individually or in pairs with families in the town in
order to practice their Maya. Students will eat their
afternoon meal with the families. In the early
evening, they will attend small group tutorials led by
native Mayan teachers at the Santa Elena Cultural
Center, the heart of social life in village.  Level II
students also may have the unique opportunity of 
assisting the local museum in the translation of
display captions from Spanish to Maya. This extended
stay will allow ample time to get to know the village
and surrounding areas in more depth.

Week 6 â€“Valladolid and Xocen
After completing the two weeks in Santa Elena, Level
II students will travel to Valladolid and will stay at
the Hotel MesÃ³n del Marquez on the ZÃ³calo. Like
Level I, they also will be placed with families in
Xocen to continue practicing their Maya and to take
part in the daily life of the village.  They will eat
their lunch meal in the homes. There will also be time
to work with their professors on specific goals
regarding the Maya language and culture.

COSTS
Program Fee for both Levels I and II - approximately
$3,200.  Costs are based on estimates and are subject
to change.  The program fee will cover instructional
fees, accommodations, some meals, most site and 
museum fees, and transportation for all excursions. It
does not include airfare to Mexico, passport fees,
some weekend meals, housing for two weeks in Chapel
Hill for those in the beginning level course, laundry 
service or personal expenses. Please contact the
Institute for more information. Optional housing in
dormitories (double room) at UNC is available.  FLAS
funding is available for many qualified graduate 
students. Please contact the Institute for additional
information about funding.

Course Materials

The Yucatec Maya Institute will provide the books and
CDâ€™s for Spoken Yucatec Maya, by Robert Blair and
Refugio Vermont-Salas, along with colorful vocabulary
flashcards and the supplementary reader Maaya
Tsâ€™iiboâ€™ob-Yucatec Maya.

Students will also use the Maaya T'aan series
developed in 1994 by the Mexican Secretariat of
Education for use in Maya classes in Mexico and the
newly released documentary in Yucatec Maya, SÃ¡astal:
The Children of the Sacred Grace.  The DVD will be an 
innovative learning tool and will enhance the
studentsâ€™ knowledge of the people and culture.

NOTE:  This is a rigorous course held in an intense
climate (averaging around 100 ï‚°F a day).  Students
should be flexible and be able to cope with heat.

APPLICATION & ENROLLMENT
Total combined enrollment for both levels is limited
to twenty students, so students are encouraged to
apply early. Applications are invited from 
anyone who wishes to study Yucatec Maya. Application
deadline is Friday, 
March 30th, 2007.

FOR APPLICATIONS CONTACT: The Study Abroad Office, the
University of 
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 201 Porthole Building,
CB 3130 Chapel 
Hill, NC 27599-3130
Phone: 919-962-7002, Fax: 919-962-2262 
http://studyabroad.unc.edu/programs.cfm?pk=1883

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit our website: 
http://www.duke.edu/web/carolinadukeconsortium/yucatec_maya/index.html
or contact Sharon MÃºjica at:
The Yucatec Maya Summer Institute, 
Consortium in Latin American Studies
223 E. Franklin St. CB#3205, 
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3205
phone: (919) 962-2414, fax: (919) 962-0398, 
email: smujica at email.unc.edu
Sponsored by the Consortium in Latin American Studies
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and
Duke University
-- 
Sharon S. Mujica
Educational Outreach Director and Maya Program
Director
The Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
at UNC-CH and 
Duke
223 E. Franklin St.,  cb# 3205
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3205
(919) 962-2414,  fax (919) 962-0398
www.unc.edu/depts/ilas

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