{"id":397,"date":"2021-08-02T19:41:59","date_gmt":"2021-08-02T19:41:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/as.vanderbilt.edu\/clacx\/?page_id=397"},"modified":"2023-09-18T18:43:02","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T18:43:02","slug":"mayanstudies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/as.vanderbilt.edu\/clacx\/areas-of-focus\/mayanstudies\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayan Studies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vanderbilt is a recognized leader in Mayan Studies with a particular strength in Guatemala.\u00a0 We are one of the few universities in the US that offers instruction in K\u2019iche\u2019 Mayan, spoken by approximately 1 million people, and Vanderbilt has trained a number of Mayan PhDs.\u00a0 Faculty and students from anthropology, political science, medicine, nursing, engineering, education, business and other fields collaborate on related interdisciplinary initiatives, and over 50 students travel to the region each year for research, language study, or service-learning projects.\u00a0 This on-campus scholarship informs our public engagement for K-12 educators and the general public, as well as educational performing arts programming, such as the Amazing Twins<\/em> marionette show developed with the Nashville Public Library, and the documentary film La Camioneta<\/em>, directed by alum Mark Kendall.<\/p>\n

Courses of Study and Abroad Experiences<\/h3>\n

Academic Year K\u2019iche\u2019 Mayan<\/u>: Vanderbilt is one of the only universities in the US that teaches academic year instruction in the K\u2019iche\u2019 Mayan language.\u00a0 We offer a four-semester sequence of K\u2019iche\u2019 instruction, which includes regular one-on-one conversational sessions between students and native speakers, with courses taught by Mareike Sattler.\u00a0 In 2015, Vanderbilt, Duke\/UNC, and the University of Virginia began a distance language partnership that expanded AY instruction of K\u2019iche\u2019 Mayan to students at those universities.\u00a0 The importance of K\u2019iche\u2019 is relevant locally, as the number of K\u2019iche\u2019 speakers has increased in Metro Nashville Public Schools in recent years.\u00a0 The recent influx of emigrants from Central America to the US has also led to a greater national demand for speakers of Mayan languages, particularly Mam, K\u2019iche\u2019, and Q\u2019anjob\u2019al.<\/p>\n

CLACX collaborates with Tulane University to offer a FLAS-approved summer field school in Guatemala, the Mayan Language Institute<\/u>. The MLI offers six weeks of immersion in K\u2019iche\u2019 and Kaqchikel Mayan language; Vanderbilt\u2019s Mareike Sattler leads the K\u2019iche\u2019 program. \u00a0Students studying K\u2019iche\u2019 live with host families in Nahual\u00e1.\u00a0 It is the only intensive program in the United States for the study of these languages, which are two of the most widely spoken Mayan languages. The K\u2019iche\u2019 program was founded by Vanderbilt in 2008, and merged with Tulane\u2019s Kaqchikel summer program in 2014 to create the Mayan Language Institute.\u00a0 In 2019, Antigua-based Proyecto Ling\u00fc\u00edstico Francisco Marroqu\u00edn (PLFM) joined the MLI partnership.\u00a0 Founded in 1969, PLFM is the oldest language school in Guatemala and is dedicated to teaching and preserving Guatemala\u2019s Mayan languages and teaching Spanish.<\/p>\n

View Memoriam<\/a> for Manuel de Jesus Tahay Gomes, former head teacher and local coordinator for the Mayan Language Insitute-K’iche’ in Nahual\u00e1.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Medical Spanish and Central America Seminar<\/u> provides training for pre-specialty students in Vanderbilt\u2019s Nursing School and students at Meharry Medical College.\u00a0 Students in the class delve into medical vocabulary, practice intake exams and patient interviews in Spanish, and learn about the history and culture of the Northern Triangle region, with a focus on issues of health and access to care.\u00a0 This effort is part of a larger CLACX initiative to support inter-professional learning and provide medical Spanish to Meharry and Vanderbilt students.\u00a0 Students must apply to join the class, and generally come with a basic-intermediate level of Spanish.\u00a0 A subset of VUSN students work with Primeros Pasos in the following Spring semester to carry out their QI project, and may have the opportunity to travel to Guatemala.\u00a0 The Medical Spanish and Central America Seminar is co-taught by Chalene Helmuth (Spanish) and Avery Dickins de Gir\u00f3n (LACX); Manola McCain (Nursing) leads the QI project and trip to Guatemala.<\/p>\n

Immigration Practice Clinic<\/u>: Karla McKanders directs the Immigration Practice Clinic for students in Vanderbilt\u2019s Law School. \u00a0As part of their training, students in the Practice Clinic prepare cases for individuals from Central Americans seeking asylum or guardianship.<\/p>\n

Primeros Pasos<\/u>:\u00a0 CLACX works closely with Primeros Pasos, a pediatric clinic located in the Palajunoj Valley on the outskirts of Guatemala\u2019s second largest city, Quetzaltenango.\u00a0 The clinic serves 10 rural K\u2019iche\u2019 Maya communities.\u00a0 Undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of disciplines engage with the clinic through short or longer term experiences.\u00a0 Vanderbilt medical students participate in month-long clinical rotations, where they assist with mobile clinics, work alongside Primeros Pasos physicians and staff, and learn about health conditions, health systems, and health disparities particular to the Palajunoj Valley and Central America more generally.\u00a0 Students collaborate with staff to produce health educational resources in Spanish, and help support the clinic\u2019s nutrition programs.\u00a0 Public Health students spend up to three months at Primeros Pasos during the summer for their practicum.\u00a0 Recent public health practica have emerged through \u201cEssential Skills in Global Health,\u201d a required course for MPH students pursuing the global health track. \u00a0Projects have included refining monitoring and evaluation protocols for the clinic\u2019s Healthy Schools program, providing interactive nutritional workshops for primary school classrooms and groups of local mothers, and developing curriculum manuals for the clinic\u2019s robust volunteer program.<\/p>\n

Students in Cynthia Paschal\u2019s Biomedical Engineering<\/u> course (BME 3890) travel to Guatemala to repair machinery in resource-limited hospitals during Spring Break, including: Hospital Materna Infantil de Juan Pablo II, Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro, and Hospital Nacional Pedro de Bethancourt. Students also visit Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and exchange presentations with engineering students. Under the supervision of Paschal and Adams, Vanderbilt students have created 11 how-to videos, five which have been translated to Spanish with support from CLAS. The Spanish language videos have been viewed over 16,000 times. \u00a0In addition, Paschal has collaborated with Prof. Carlos Esquit at UVG to establish a biomedical engineering program to help build capacity in the country.<\/p>\n

Through Engineers Without Borders<\/u>, Vanderbilt Students travel to Paxoj and Txemuj, two Mam Mayan-speaking communities in Guatemala, located near Quetzaltenango\u2019s border with San Marcos.\u00a0 This ongoing project intends to reduce erosion to the primary school that serves the communities, and thus make it more accessible during the rainy season, as well as improve general drainage.<\/p>\n

The \u201c100,000 Strong in the Americas\u201d<\/u> grant between Vanderbilt and the Universidad del Valle (UVG) in Guatemala supports exchanges between engineering students and faculty around the topic of water and wastewater sustainability, with a specific focus on water and wastewater. Vanderbilt students enroll in CE 3705 Water Resources Engineering, ENVE 3610 Sustainable Development, or ENVE 4700 Energy and Water Resources, and then have the opportunity to travel to Guatemala during Spring Break to work alongside students from UVG. In 2019, students participated in a project to improve the management of water and energy sources in San Crist\u00f3bal El Alto. \u00a0While there, the VU-UVG team analyzed the town\u2019s water supply and treatment plant, municipal solid waste processes, and delivery of electricity.\u00a0 The longer-term goal of the initiative is to increase tourism and provide a sustainable economic benefit to the community.\u00a0 At Vanderbilt, the grant is spearheaded by Hiba Baroud (Engineering).<\/p>\n

Focused on social enterprise and business in emerging markets, the Immersive Experience in Antigua<\/u> gives undergraduate students the opportunity to examine ways local businesses can impact their communities. Students spend 10 days in Antigua during Winter Break, where they engage with businesses and organizations that span the social impact continuum, ranging from pure commercial enterprise to an operational charity. \u00a0A typical day consists of studying business models and sustainable practices in the morning, followed by an examination of the practical application of such theories through site visits to organizations such as Gr\u00f8nn, Ecofiltro, Antigua Cerveza Company, and De la Gente. These experiences allow students to understand how workforce development translates to a bigger home for coffee farmers, or how improved access to clean water can impact attendance rates at rural schools. Other activities include guest lectures by leaders of companies based on a model of social enterprise.\u00a0 The Immersive Experience in Antigua is led by Greg Harvey and supported by the Vanderbilt Accelerator Program, in partnership with Owen\u2019s Turner Family Center and CLAS.<\/p>\n

Other courses include:<\/p>\n