Casa de la Ciudad de Oaxaca
We will begin with a reception the evening of July 11, 2010, in the beautiful courtyard of the Casa de la Ciudad de Oaxaca (City Museum of Oaxaca). Access to this historic building is being provided by one of our co-sponsors, the Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú, and the museum director, Bas van Doesburg, who is on our faculty.
This will likely be the first we meet each other and we will take this time for each of you to register, provide us with local contact information, hand out maps, and go over other essential information. You will not want to miss this event.
We will begin formal classes on Monday, July 12th, at 10:00 a.m. We will break each day at about 1:00 or 1:30 and, except for when we take full day fieldtrips, we resume in the early eveningfor more presentations.
Each of the four weeks of the Institute has a distinct theme:
Week 1: Archaeology: “Art and Architecture as Windows into Cultural Realities in Prehistory”
Week 2: Ethnohistory: “Seeking Indigenous Perspectives and Cultural Memories through Manuscript Studies”
Week 3: The Arts: “Cultural Continuity and Innovation in Music, Textiles, Pottery, and Photography”
Week 4: Film: “Mesoamerican Histories through Film: Representations of Cultures and Societies”
We will run an optional technology track on Fridays and at other times as requested by the participants. The focus of the technology track will be on effectively using available digital resources and creating new digital resources for use in the classroom. You will work in teams or alone as you desire, but we hope to share all new resources with one another and with teachers anywhere who might find them useful.
We will take many long lunch times together as is the custom in Mexico, leaving time to rest and recuperate before regathering for evening presentations. We will host “Spanish only” tables or circles during social periods for those people who wish to practice and improve their Spanish-language conversational skills; once again, this will be voluntary.
We have already planned numerous field trips as part of the formal course but you can expect to encounter many more opportunities to explore Oaxaca on your own or with knowledgeable guides. You will find it easy enough to make a quick trip to the beautiful Oaxacan beaches or to the Mixtec Alta, just as it will be very feasible to take tours of the local mescal and chocolate factories, art galleries and to attend local cultural events. The world famous Guelaquetza (and possibly the alternative Guelaquetza) will be held during our time in Oaxaca.
