In collaboration with Rhodes and Centre, Sewanee is thrilled to offer this unique program in Ecuador, which explores various environmental challenges of today and tomorrow through an integrated lens of science and humanities in place-based courses. 

Quick Facts

Where: Ecuador (Cuenca, Amazon, and the Galapagos)

Tentative Dates: September 9, 2024 - December 21, 2024

What: The Global Environmental Challenges program explores various environmental challenges of today and tomorrow through an integrated lease of science and humanities in place-based courses. The semester-long program is based in Ecuador and will spend twelve weeks in the highlands of Cuenca, followed by a three-week module at a biodiversity station in the Amazon and in the Galápagos Islands. 

Students who participate in the program will be able to:

  • Recognize and analyze complex environmental challenges and local responses from the perspective of diverse stakeholders, particularly considering Latin America v. the U.S. 
  • Consider multiple definitions of sustainability within a specific local and national context
  • Grow in empathy and in linguistic and cultural competency through sustained engagement with local communities
  • Learn, apply, and/or evaluate natural and social science field methodologies in local contexts

Cost: Students pay Sewanee comprehensive tuition and fees and will continue to receive Sewanee aid and scholarships during the Global Environmental Challenges program. 

Trip Leader: Deborah McGrath, Ph.D. (Professor of Biology and Assistant Dean Sewanee Integrated Program in the Environment | Carl Biehl Professor of International Studies)

Contact for Additional Information: global@sewanee.edu 

How to apply: Set up an account and apply through Via.

Program Overview

Academics

Students will take a full course load on the Global Environmental Challenges program. Students will enroll in three courses in Cuenca over a span of 12 weeks; the fourth course, Environment, Conservation, and Policy Issues in Ecuador, will be taught as a three-week module in the Amazon river basin and the Galapagos.  There is no Spanish requirement to enroll in the program; however, all students will be required to take a Spanish language course at their level. The following are the proposed courses for the program, pending final faculty approval.

  • ENST 219: Environment, Conservation, and Policy Issues in Ecuador (Required)
    • This course introduces students to the most influential factors shaping the ecosystems and their conservation, looking at the global, regional and local factors that determine the climates and the contrasting ecosystems that can be found in Ecuador. The course includes several field visits to the Ecuadorian Amazon (Tiputini Biodiversity Station) and the Galapagos Islands. Thus, allowing students to experience first-hand current topics of conservation and policy issues, while discussing the main environmental challenges associated with the conservation of natural ecosystems in tropical developing countries.
  • SPAN XXX: Options include two levels of beginner, two levels of intermediate, two levels of advanced grammar, and two advanced content courses. 
  • ENST 225: Environmental Challenges: Linking the Global to the Local (General Education 7) (Required)
    • This course examines local environmental challenges in Cuenca, Ecuador, and explores connections to the broader global context. Emphasis will be placed on learning about the ways and beliefs of local cultures and understanding the difficulties in maintaining cultural identity in today’s environmental economic climate. Experiential learning will be a significant element of the course, and students will regularly visit local communities and NGOs so that students can learn from those who are most affected by these issues. Only open to students approved through the Office of Global Citizenship for the Global Environmental Challenges semester program.
  • BIO 2XX: Tropical Biology

    • This course surveys the diversity of tropical ecosystems and examines the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape them. Through lectures, readings, discussions, and guest speakers, the course examines foundational theories and major themes in tropical biology, including species diversity, adaptations and coevolution, community structure, biogeography, and conservation challenges. The course uses Ecuador as a model to illustrate general principles and contemporary issues in tropical ecology and conservation.

  • Música Ecuatoriana

    • This course explores the musical diversity of Ecuador through history from pre-Columbian times to present day. Taught by distinguished musicologist Carlos Freire Sora, students will analyze the historical evolution of Ecuadorean music and learn the importance of its role in Ecuadorean society today.
Housing

Students will stay with local host families while in Cuenca and the Galapagos. Students stay on-site at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in dorm-style rooms. The program provides 20 meals per week for students.

Student Support
  • Airport pickup
  • On-site orientation upon arrival in both Cuenca, Ecuador and Quito, Ecuador
  • Homestays
  • 20 meals per week
  • Co-curricular cultural events
  • Weekend excursions around Ecuador
visa
  • Beginning Fall 2025 students will be required to secure a visa prior to departure. Information on applying for a visa can be found HERE.
  • Students who are U.S. citizens will receive a tourist visa that is valid for 90 days upon their arrival in Ecuador. During their stay, on-site program coordinators will assist students in applying for an extension (prórroga). 
  • Students who are not U.S. citizens may need a visa to enter Ecuador, depending on their country of origin. And, students who need visas must apply up-front for the 180-day visa. 
TentaTIVE DATES
  • Sept 9: Depart the United States and arrive in Quito, Ecuador
  • Sept 9 - Sept 10: Arrive and overnights in Quito at a local hotel
  • Sept 11 - December 1: cuenca segment
  • Sept 10: Orientation
  • Sept 11: Classes begin
  • Oct 11: National holiday, no classes
  • tbd: Final day of classes; all written work due
  • tbd: Final exams
  • nOV 29: Arrive in Quito and check into hotel lodging
  • Dec 1: orientation 
  • Dec 2 - 7: Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS) in the amazon river basin
  • tbd: overnight at coca in a local hotel
  • tbd: overnight in Quito
  • Dec 9 - 13: San Cristobal, Galapagos
  • Dec 14-16: Isabella, Galapagos
  • Dec 17-19: Santa Cruz, Galapagos
  • Dec 21: Program ends; students depart for the U.S.

 

 

Get to Know the 2024 Program Director, Dr. Genny Ballard

Genny Ballard is a professor of Spanish at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. She is a returned Peace Corps volunteer from Costa Rica where she has been taking students since 2006, and in the fall of 2019, she spent six months in Colombia as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar.

Ballard is actively engaged in community-based learning and student internships. She has extensive study abroad experience having directed programs in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Nicaragua, Spain, and Andorra. Ballard is one of the founders of the Centre College After School Program for immigrant, migrant and first-generation K-12 students.

Sample Publications

Ballard, Genny & Murray, Sarah. "Reciprocity and Reflection in Community-based Study Abroad Courses in Rural Costa Rica." Prism 6.1 (December 2017) p.32.

Cook, Kristin & Brown, Alan & Ballard, Genny. Using Photovoice to Explore Environmental Sustainability Across Languages and Cultures. "Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education." 7 (June 2016). DOI: 10.1515/dcse-2016-0004.

Sample Presentations

  • Ballard, Genny and Marie Petkus. Economic Choice in Merida Yucatan. Latin American Studies Association, Boston May, 2019
  • Ballard, Genny and Heydy Robles. Cultural Competence and International Collaboration: Interconnected Classrooms. Second Annual Conference of Teaching and Learning in Latin American Higher Education in Colombia June 2018.
  • Ballard, Genny (Spanish) and Marie Petkus (economics and finance). The Influence of Culture and Language on the Concept of Fairness in Economic Decision‐making. SECOLAS, San Antonio, Texas, March 2018.
  • Smithsonian Lecture Series for Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia, July‐August 2017.
    • From Colombia’s Colonial Past to Becoming the Modern Center of Latin American Art, Music and Dance. August 5, 2017.
    • The Panama Canal Zone: Past Present and Future. August 3, 2017.
    • Costa Rica: A Peaceful Existence Fueled by Coffee and Eco‐tourism. August 2, 2017.
    • Nicaragua: Resistance, Revolution and Progress. August 1, 2017.
    • Guatemala: Celebrating Three Millennia of Mayan Cultures. July 28, 2017.
    • More than Mariachi: Mexican Music, Art and Food. July 25, 2017.
    • Syncretism and Separation: Understanding Baja California’s Unique Place in Mexico. July 23, 2017.
    • An Overview of Modern Latin American Civilizations: More Different than Alike. July 21, 2017.