Culture & History in Central America Spring Semester Abroad. Frequently Asked Questions

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1 Culture & History in Central America Spring Semester Abroad Frequently Asked Questions ELIGIBILITY Who is eligible to apply for the Semester Abroad program? All majors are welcome to apply for this program. Undergraduate and graduate students must be enrolled full time to be eligible. What if I have never had art history before? No problem! Our courses are structured in a way that allows non art history majors and art history majors alike to live the art surrounding Antigua, Guatemala. The streets, ruins and colonial buildings become the backdrop of the classroom and students experience art all around. Students experience hands on learning by visiting major cultural sites. Is this program appropriate for non art majors? Yes! All majors are welcome. We have had many different majors as past students of our program: History, Latin American Studies, IRG, Education, Sociology, Plan II, and Anthropology.

2 Can I go on the program as a graduate student? Yes! Our faculty leader will gladly work with graduate students and offer graduate credit for the courses. ACADEMICS What courses are offered? Our program consist of 12 UT faculty led course credits plus 3 language transfer credit ( Spanish or Kaqchikel Maya) The Archeology of Mesoamerica ANT 324L / ARH 374 / LAS 327 Colonial Encounter: Western and Indigenous Perspectives ARH 374 / LAS 327 Sacred Landscape in the Pre-Columbian World ARH 370 / LAS 327 / GRG 356T Baroque Art and Architecture in Colonial Spanish America ARH 365 / ARC 368R / LAS 327 Is Spanish knowledge required to apply for the program? No. As part of your program costs, you will receive 12 weeks of Language instruction from Proyecto Lingüistico Francisco Marroquín. The school places students according to their level (beginner, intermediate or advance). Classes are usually twice a week for 2 hours and the student to teacher ratio is very low.

3 APPLICATION How do I apply? SCHOLARSHIPS Are scholarships available? Visit the Study Abroad Site FAQ section This section is extremely helpful and should answer many of your scholarship and financial aid questions. Also, check out the scholarship section on the Study Abroad site. There are several scholarships for students wishing to travel and study abroad. Do students travel around Central America afterwards? Due to its popularity amongst tourists and its very well developed tourism infrastructure, Antigua Guatemala is often used as a central location in which many choose to set up base and from here, visit other tourist areas in Guatemala and Central America. Cruise ships that dock at Guatemalan ports offer trips to Antigua from both the Pacific and Atlantic. Guatemala is located close to San Salvador and Belize, both great locations for beach and leisure time. Be sure to contact Study Abroad if you are staying later, as you can pay a small fee for additional insurance while you are traveling. Please also contact the Study Abroad Office to

4 see if you need any extra permission to travel to other countries. LIVING IN ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA IS THE TOWN OLD AND HISTORIC? Built 1,500 mts above sea level, Antigua Guatemala, the capital of the Captaincy-General of Guatemala, was founded in 1524 as Santiago de Guatemala. Antigua Guatemala has retained the integrity of its 16th-century layout and the physical integrity of most of its built heritage, thus making the city a World UNESCO Heritage Site. Antigua Guatemala was the cultural, economic, religious, political and educational centre for the entire region until the capital was moved. In the space of under three centuries the city acquired a number of superb monuments.

5 The pattern of straight lines established by the grid of northsouth and east-west streets and inspired by the Italian Renaissance, is one of the best examples in Latin American town planning and all that remains of the 16th-century city. Most of the surviving civil, religious, and civic buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries and constitute magnificent examples of colonial architecture in the Americas. These buildings reflect a regional stylistic variation known as Barroco antigueño. Distinctive characteristics of this architectural style include the use of decorative stucco for interior and exterior ornamentation, main facades with a central window niche and often a deeply-carved tympanum, massive buildings, and low bell towers.

6 Among the many significant historical buildings, the Palace of the Captains General, the Casa de la Moneda, the Cathedral, the Universidad de San Carlos, Las Capuchinas, La Merced, Santa Clara, among others, are worth noting.

7 The city lay mostly abandoned for almost a century until the mid-1800s when increased agricultural production, particularly coffee and grain, brought new investment to the region. Antigua Guatemala contains living traces of Spanish culture with its principal monuments, built in the Baroque style of the 18th century preserved today as ruins. Antigua Guatemala was a centre for the exportation of religious images and statues to the rest of the American continent and to Spain during the 17th and 18th centuries. Antigua Guatemala is one the earliest and outstanding examples of city planning in Latin America in which the basic grid plan, dating from 1543, has been maintained. Its religious, private and government buildings are outstanding evidences of Spanish colonial architecture in Antigua.

8 What is the Semana Santa and does ir fall during the the Semester Abroad? YES! La Antigua is noted for its very elaborate religious celebrations during Lent (Cuaresma), leading up to Holy Week (Semana Santa) and Easter (Pascua). Each Sunday in Lent, one of the local parishes sponsor a Procession through the streets of Antigua. Elaborate and beautiful artistic carpets predominantly made of dyed sawdust, flowers, pine needles and even fruits and vegetables adorn the processions' path. Students enroll in the program get to experience this world renowned festival and create an artistic carpet outside Casa Herrera.

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10 IS ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA SAFE? We urge students to use caution at all times, just as if you were around Austin. Late nights out alone are never safe, especially for women, whether in Austin or in Guatemala, so we like to have students who go out at night do so in groups, and make sure that everyone has the cellphone our program provides. Visit the following website to see the photos of our students alfombra

11 Visit the following website to see a 2 minute accelerated video of our students creating an alfombra during Semana Santa WHAT FIELD TRIPS ARE INCLUDED IN PROGRAM FEE? Our students experience a true cultural immersion during our program. Field trips are a natural extension of the classroom and help contextualize the lectures and seminars that student attend. Students visit small villages and interact with the people living in the surrounding areas of Antigua, Guatemala. Backstrap weaving, Shamán sites, Maya ruins, coffee plantations, colonial sites and a major field trip to the Maya site of Tikal and a continuation to Belize are some of the field trips included in the program.

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