University of Colorado Denver

While a partial understanding of the reality of development can be realized in the classroom, direct engagement with the people, settings and issues involved will create an awareness of both the complexities and opportunities in sustainable development in ways not possible in the classroom. The structure of the course will be such that students will acquire knowledge, specific skills on methods and practice, and a much deeper understanding of the lives of people in a developing country - all important in an increasingly globalized world.

This will be a 4 week field-based course in which students will engage directly with issues of sustainability and health in the Guatemalan region known as the Trifinio (SW Guatemala). The course will use an integrated combination of classroom and field experience, through which students will directly engage issues of sustainable livelihoods and health and learn to use practical research methods to explore the dynamics of community development. There will be one week of intensive instruction at UCD— DDC, followed by three weeks of fieldwork in Guatemala where students will collaborate with Guatemalan students and community members and be guided by faculty sponsors, Banas​a staff and local community members to complete a range of studies according to course objectives and community needs.