Program Details
- Location:
- Havana, Cuba; Managua, Nicaragua
- Program Type:
- Study Abroad
- Degree Level:
- Undergraduate
- Term:
- Fall Semester, Spring Semester
Program Overview
- Program Description:
- Explore Nicaragua a generation after the revolution and investigate how young people are creatively advocating for change. Gain comparative perspectives on youth issues during an excursion to Cuba.
A generation ago, the Nicaraguan Revolution ushered in new conversations about human rights, religion, politics, and gender roles. In particular, the National Literacy Campaign, launched in 1980, empowered underprivileged Nicaraguans to become knowledgeable about their rights and to imagine — and demand — a better world for themselves. Important movements in politics, literature, and the arts accompanied these changes, and new voices emerged as protest and hopes were expressed in myriad creative genres. For today's youth, life is more peaceful, but these complex conversations — around literacy, rights, access, information, and expression — have continued to deepen and evolve. With the advent of new forms of media, concepts of literacy have even broader implications and impacts. Therefore, the program considers multiple “literacies,” including civic literacy, digital literacy, sexual literacy, and cultural literacy. Students will delve into how young Nicaraguans access and communicate different sorts of knowledge: they will learn how youth are speaking up, speaking out, connecting with others, and participating in different dialogues about social change. In this 16-credit program, students critically examine youth culture, advocacy, social change, and expression, across two generations in Nicaragua and to a lesser degree in Cuba. All coursework is delivered in Spanish. Key topics of study: How is Nicaragua — particularly its youth — grappling with issues of access, rights, and difference? How is youth culture considering questions of access (to education, healthcare, and digital media) and issues of difference (ethnic, sexual, class, and religious)? How are today’s youth rewriting and re-imagining Nicaragua? How are youth expressions and articulations building upon the theme of literacy introduced during the revolution? What forms of new media are being employed? How does the Cuban experience compare to Nicaragua? What is the legacy of these Revolutions for today’s youth in Nicaragua and Cuba? Through the program’s advanced Spanish seminar — focused on reading and writing — students immerse themselves in the politically charged poetry and literature of these fascinating countries, dialoguing these with popular and political texts. Students are completely immersed in Spanish throughout the program. The Research Methods and Ethics seminar provides students with qualitative skills and introduce them to arts-based research techniques; the seminar covers a range of digital media (visual and audio). Through an Independent Study Project, students explore a specific issue relating to Nicaragua’s social movements, politics, and/or youth culture and expression. Throughout the program, students engage with a wide range of Nicaraguan and Cuban academics, historians, advocates, community members, and youth.
Please inquire for costs: Fees include tuition, full room and board, all field trips and related fares, health and accident insurance, and other direct program expenses. Participants pay for international airfare and domestic travel to the point of departure from the USA.
- Setting Description:
- The SIT Nicaragua program treats the literacy campaigns of the Nicaraguan and Cuban revolutions as points of origin for the expansion of awareness of human, health, and educational rights, and as a backdrop to current demands and achievements — particularly by youth — in terms of information and expression. Program highlights: Engage in writing workshops with community members. Interact with Nicaraguan and Cuban youth who are assuming roles as political protagonists, artists, writers, and media producers. Visit women’s centers and interview architects of Nicaragua’s autonomous feminist movement. Work on projects with local radio stations in rural and urban settings. Engage with a range of people with simple technology to both elicit and share dialog. Visit a university on the Caribbean coast dedicated to working with students from different ethnic groups. Live in Managua (program base). During the first seven weeks of the program, students live with host fami
Additional Program Information
- Scholarships:
- Yes
- Scholarships Description:
- Please see our website for more information.
Program Reviews
Overall Rating
Based on 2 Reviews
- Nicaragua07/30/17
I am a first generation college student and I also happen to be the only person in my family to ever have had an amazing opportunity like this. When I was applying to study abroad I was between SIT and another Program. The application process alone
was very demanding, however SIT was there every step of the way to assist me in any questions or difficulties I had. I chose SIT specifically for the title and the excursion to Cuba, however I soon learned that it offered much more. SIT as many strengths. They have great faculty and staff that really provide a safe and open community for the students. One of the most memorable parts of this program was the home-stays and the complete cultural immersion that I experienced. We lived in a working class community and traveled/commuted to classes nearby. I greatly appreciated the fact that we were living and experiencing Nicaragua in a very authentic and honest way. The excursions were amazing and very enriching especially when seeing the different sides of Nicaragua and especially when comparing and contrasting the histories of Nicaragua and Cuba. However I would say that I would have like to learn more about the Youth Culture within Nicaragua, however I know they will be revising the program to incorporate that more. I highly recommend this program to anyone who is up for a great and enriching challenge, and for those who seek to completely immerse themselves and developing a better understanding of Nicaragua.
read moreBottom Line:Yes, I would recommend this to a friend - What an amazing life experience!09/25/13
This program was absolutely incredible. The staff, course faculty, and home stay families make this study abroad program one of a kind and truly amazing! They are so supportive and take great care of their students, exposing them to as much of Nicaragua
as possible: both historical background and present day experiences. You become totally immersed in the culture and really get to know the country on an intimate level. My favorite part of this program is the excursion aspect of the program. We travelled almost every other week. The trips ranged from an excursion to the rural countryside of Nicaragua taking hikes through the mountainous cloud forests of Nicaragua in Peñas Blancas (the lungs of Nicaragua) to travelling to the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, a part of the country with an island flair and vibe that is drastically different from the rest of the country but just as amazing. This is not a "leave the country, party for a semester, have no challenge" kind of study abroad program. This program has academic, mental, emotional and deeply personal challenges all along the way. While I had a blast and did get to have plenty of partying/night life experiences that most certainly was not the primary focus nor was it the highlight of my time abroad. If you are looking to party for a semester and go clubbing or out on the town this probably isn't the best program for that. But you know, I would to have missed out on a program this great just because I wanted to party for a semester -- somehing I can always do in the states.
read moreBottom Line:Yes, I would recommend this to a friend