Academics in Action
The Border Studies Program
combines rigorous academic study, practical on-site learning, travel
seminars and structured reflection in a semester that engages students
in some of today’s most urgent social, economic, and ecological matters.
A semester with the Border Studies Program facilitates the examination
of issues related to migration, human rights, globalization, food
systems, and the environment. Peers, scholars, farmers, indigenous,
state authorities, migrants and activists in both Mexico and the U.S.
contribute to the learning process. This integrated experience
challenges students to be more thoughtful and intentional about their
participation in creating a just and sustainable world.
Based
in Tucson, the Border Studies Program is situated in a
complex and critical geographic bioregion, offering unique opportunities for studying
social and ecological issues in local, regional, and international contexts. Known for
intense activism around immigrant rights and borderlands militarization, Tucson overflows
with environmental organizations working on both sides of the border to protect the binational
ecosystem and to seek sustainable living models in the arid lands of Sonora, Arizona,
and beyond.
Extensive
travel seminars and excursions along both sides of the
border and the interior of Mexico integrate two or more of the courses,
enhancing students academic and personal experience by providing
students with a more holistic understanding of the borderlands and the
relationship the region has to broader global issues. The unique
combination of coursework, field studies, and travel seminars create an
outstanding opportunity to engage in an analysis of migration, the
global economy, environmental degradation, development, sustainability,
transnational communities, international boundaries, and justice in a
land marked by numerous inequalities.
Location
The
Border Studies Program is based in the southern Arizona borderlands in
Tucson, Arizona. This unique program is situated in a way that students
are able to fully embrace and understand the complexities of this
dynamic region.
Positioned at a crucial crossroads between the Global North and
South, Tucson offers a unique perspective for both the fall and spring
semester programs. The confluence of different communities, cultures,
and bioregions makes this desert city and its surroundings an apt lens
from which to focus on learning about both national and international
shifts in intersecting issues affecting societies and the environment.
In Tucson, The University of Arizona, local popular education
groups, and civil society organizations all contribute to the large
number of scholars, activists, and academic programs that focus on
migration, border issues, and sustainability. The city also counts
strong, nationally and internationally recognized social movements
responding to issues such as migrant deaths, borderlands militarization,
human rights, and civil liberties.
The Border Patrol's Tucson sector is the top crossing point for
undocumented immigrants. The Tucson sector is also the point along the
border experiencing the most severe humanitarian crisis as hundreds of
migrants perish every year in the harsh desert environment. While
migrants passing through this sector come from all over Mexico and
Central America, the highest percentages have been from Chiapas and
Oaxaca, both of which the spring program visits.
Arizona has recently been referred to by some as the epicenter of
the struggle for human rights in the United States. Located in the heart
of this struggle in Tucson, the program allows students to experience
this process from the inside out, exploring local policy, practice, and
responses to the current human rights debate on the border.
Tuscon and the Sonoran desert are also appropriate places from which
to embark on a deeper examination of issues of sustainability. This
bioregion ranges from high altitude sky island mountain ranges that
serve as way points for migrating species to the extremely biodiverse
Sea of Cortez. A metropolitan area of near one million residents in the
middle of the desert, Tucson has many environmental organizations
working on both sides of the border to protect the binational ecosystem
and to seek sustainable living models in these arid lands.
Eligibility
The fall program is open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors of all
academic majors and backgrounds. One year of college level Spanish (or
equivalent) is required to participate in the fall.
The spring program is open to juniors and seniors only. Two years of
college level Spanish (or equivalent) are required for the spring
program.
Students from all colleges and universities are eligible to apply.
Please review specific policies at your university related to program
approval and participation. The Border Studies program is more than
willing to work with students from any institution to assist with their
participation with the program.
Credits
Students may earn 18 semester credits (or equivalent) for successful completion of the
program. All students must be full time participants.
Resident Director and Program Staff
Riley Merline is The Border Studies Program Resident Director.
Riley along with other Tucson-based Border Studies Program Staff
coordinate all aspects
of the program throughout the semester and work closely with the
students. Riley also teaches
the core seminar courses for both semester programs. BSP staff members
and local experts teach additional program courses for each semester.
Program Dates
The Border Studies Program takes place every fall and spring semester. Each semester
program runs for 15-weeks and includes a break.
The spring semester runs from mid-January
to early May.
The fall semester runs from mid-August to late November.
For relevant application deadlines and other important program dates see How to Apply.
Program Fees
Program fees cover academic costs,
room and board, and required program excursions as well as transfer
of
credits and grades. A non-refundable deposit of $350.00 will be due upon
acceptance. Students at member colleges of the Great Lakes Colleges
Association,
Inc. (GLCA, Inc.) remain eligible for their college's financial aid program
and should consult the Financial Aid Office on their campuses.
Students are responsible for the cost of transportation to and from the
program site, books and materials, independent travel, and personal expenses.
For more information email borders@earlham.edu
The Fall Program – Globalization, Migration, and Sustainability
The fall program explores the consequences that globalization and the continuing
development of international borders have had on people, food systems,
and the environment. This semester will include extended travel seminars
in Mexico and the U.S. to learn firsthand about social and ecological
issues unique to the borderlands, but applicable on a global scale. The
goal of the program is to link social and economic issues related to
migration and borders to ecological issues including agriculture and
food security, water and sustainability, conservation, and development
in a binational context.
 View of Colonia Flores Magon in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. This
neighborhood is one of many in Nogales born of popular land
occupations. Such occupations were made necessary by the lack of housing
available for the thousands of Mexican workers that migrated here in
search of work along the border in the burgeoning maquiladora industry.
Program participants spend time with the local residents of this colonia
and learn about their ongoing struggle for dignified work, housing, and
public services. The Spring Program - Roots and Routes of Migration This semester is designed
for Spanish language competent students who wish to study
migration, border enforcement, human rights, globalization, and
immigration policy in-depth. The semester will include an extended
travel seminar
in Guatemala and southern Mexico to visit communities that have
been affected by migration.
The goal of the spring program is to assist students in developing
a comprehensive analysis
of the causes of migration and the consequences for individuals
and communities on both
sides of the international border. Building on that analysis, the
spring program gives students opportunities to explore alternatives to
the policies that have caused migration, and to speak with communities
of people on both sides of the border dedicated to constructing a world
where people can exercise their right to migrate or their right to stay
home.
 From
Left to Right (clockwise): Students at the International Border in
Nogales, Sonora with US Border Patrol in the background; Border art on
display at the University of Arizona in Tucson; Students visiting the
work of Taller Yonke along the border wall in Nogales, Sonora.
LANGUAGE LEARNING
The borderlands is a bilingual region, which presents rich opportunities for language
learning. You will no doubt hear both Spanish and English being spoken in various locations.
You will also hear creative and fascinating uses of language. The Border Studies Program
offers flexibility in language use and offers programming for those with higher-level
language skills as well as for those who are newer to Spanish.
Students are encouraged to have one year of college-level
Spanish (or equivalent) prior
to the beginning of the fall semester program and two years for
the spring semester. Students with more Spanish language skills
will find their language level to be very beneficial towards their
learning process as a part of the program.
Create Your Own Language Learning Experience
While there are not Spanish classes for credit offered through
the Border Studies Program, students have the opportunity to structure
the level of Spanish language
use that they would like. Some students, for example, may prefer a
field study where
Spanish is the dominant language, while others may prefer to
locate themselves in an
English dominant situation. The field study situations range from
complete use of Spanish
to use of English with some Spanish, with many variations in
language use in between. Some
of the families in Tucson are Spanish speaking; others are not.
By informing the
program of your language learning interests, the staff can place
you in a family that
best matches with your interests.
Ways to Achieve Your Language Learning Objectives
- To take advantage of using and practicing Spanish, you can ask to live
with a Spanish speaking family in Tucson
- To take advantage of opportunities when presented to interact in Spanish throughout extended travel seminars in Mexico
- Choose to read some assignments in Spanish
- Participate in a field study placement where Spanish is the dominant
language
- Interact in Spanish as much as possible. You may also want to listen
to Spanish radio stations, watch TV programs in Spanish, and read other materials in
Spanish.
- Organize a Spanish language discussion group with your peers participating in the program
The Border Studies Program has contacts with Spanish language
instructors in Tucson and can arrange for students to participate in
informal classes either in groups or individually during their time in
Tucson. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS
For the first week of the program, students will reside together during the orientation
period. The orientation will culminate in a host family reception where students and
families will meet for the first time and begin the semester together. From then
on, participants will live with host families in Tucson until the end of the semester.
The families in Tucson may be English language dominant or Spanish language dominant;
each student's experience will be different. The program makes every attempt to
ensure that the homestay in Tucson will in some way broaden the student's experience
related to the border.
Participants will be asked to complete a questionnaire about their preferences and
the program will then match the students with the families. Some participants prefer
more independence and others prefer a more family oriented experience.
The homestay has the potential to be a very important learning experience during the
semester, and we see your living experience as an essential part of the overall educational
program. Many Border Studies students have made long lasting friendships with their
host families over the years. CULTURAL EXCURSIONS
Program excursions are a very important part of the learning process
with the Border Studies Program. The travel seminars and excursions are
inteded to enhance students understanding about border conflicts in both
ecological and social spheres, as well as to take advantage of the
natural and human diversity of the border experience.
The first semester excursion is a visit to small towns in the
Mexican state of Sonora, very important
staging points for migrants and goods crossing the US/Mexico
border. Migrants from throughout Mexico and Central
America pass through Sonora to prepare for their journey north.
This excursion may include
a night at a migrant shelter, a day-long service project, visits
to the desert which many heading north traverse, or opportunities
to collaborate with activist groups. Students come away from this
excursion with a much
deeper understanding of the challenges that face migrants as they
move northward.
Following the first excursion students participate in two
extended travel seminars. During these travel seminars students will
travel in southern Mexico, northern Mexico, and southern Arizona
visiting important ecological
sites, sustainable farming initiatives, ranches, mines, fisherman,
commercial agriculture farms,
and the Sea of Cortez. Participants will meet with members of
indigenous groups
on both sides of the border, migrant workers, conservationists,
envinronmental NGOs, grassroots organizations, officials, farmers, labor
unions, and
more. In this way, the group will gain a greater appreciation of
the bi-national Sonoran
ecology and the ways that the environment and society interact to
respond to agricultural,
social and environmental dilemmas.
A potential third excursion of the fall semester will be to a comparative location on the US-Mexico
border to provide students with a window into a different border reality than what they
have experienced thus far in the program.
Program staff sometimes arrange optional excursions to important historical/cultural
sites and areas of natural beauty in the local area. These excursions are optional and
students may be asked to pay some of their own expenses.
Participants also have the opportunity to attend local events during the fall semester, which
include La Fiesta de San Augustin, Norteño Music Festival, Sonoita Labor Day Rodeo, the Mexican
Independence Day Celebration, All Souls Procession, Dia de los Muertos, as well as many social
and cultural events at the University of Arizona. The Spring 2011 excursions included a trip to Altar,
Sonora, several trips to Nogales, Sonora, and a trip to El Paso, Texas.
The first semester excursion is a visit to small towns in the
Mexican state of Sonora, very important staging points for migrants and
goods crossing the U.S./Mexico border. Migrants from throughout Mexico
and Central America pass through Sonora as they prepare to continue
their journey north. This excursion may include a night at a migrant
shelter, a day-long service project, visits to the desert where many
people travel north, conversations with migrants, or opportunities to
collaborate with activist groups. Students come away from this excursion
with a much deeper understanding of the challenges that face migrants
as they move northward.
The second excursion will be the extended travel seminar in Guatemala and southern
Mexico to visit communities that have been affected by migration. The travel seminar
on migration and will allow participants to visit with local communities, organizations,
and individuals that have responded to migration and the global economy in a variety
of ways in Guatemala and the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas.
The third excursion of the fall semester is to a comparative location on the US-Mexico
border. The goal of this excursion is to provide students with a window into a different
border reality than that which they experience in the southern Arizona borderlands. This
trip may include visits with academics, activists, and government officials. This
excursion may also include day-long service projects or opportunities to collaborate
with activist groups.In the past, this trip was left to be determined during the semester
with input from the students. In spring 2009 the students chose to travel west to Yuma
and San Diego. Other options, such as Douglas/Agua Prieta, are also possible. Options
and final decisions may depend on security issues or other factors, including timely
events.
Program staff may arrange optional excursions to important historical/cultural sites and areas
of natural beauty in the local area. For example, groups have traveled to the top of Mount
Lemmon for sweets from the famous pie shop, to Nogales to visit with Border Patrol, and to
the Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans alongside the beach in Puerto
Penasco, Mexico. These excursions are optional and students may be asked to pay some of their
own expenses. |