Globalization: A Jamaican Case Study

Jamaica

Closed

3 Credits in Anthropology/ Sociology,
December 26 - January 12

Instructor: Monica Frolander-Ulf

Amizade Student Application (pdf)

This course takes us to the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica to experience first-hand how our increasingly interconnected world impinges on, and is influenced by, people in our host community in the western sugar-producing parish of Westmoreland. We will learn how the Spanish and British colonial empires turned the island into a sugar exporting colony with enslaved Africans producing riches for their colonial masters and we will study the Jamaican peoples’ history of resistance to empire and exploitation. As we work alongside our hosts to serve the community we’ll learn about the global, national, and local forces that have contributed to the decline of the sugar industry and about the nation’s current efforts to save it. We will observe and analyze the effects of other global developments on local people’s everyday lives and on their efforts to find alternative ways to make a living, most notably in tourism in the nearby resort, Negril, and by migrating to Kingston or overseas. Our host organization, the Association of Clubs (AOC), is a 25 year old grassroots organization that teaches us much about local initiatives in community development, including village-based tourism, and how to work in solidarity with others across international and cultural boundaries in a respectful and mutually enriching manner.

The course begins on December 1-20, 2007 with on-line course work and preparations for the field trip. On December 26, we depart for Montego Bay where our hosts will meet us and bring us to the community of Petersfield (near Savannah-la-Mar) for our service work and learning. Our host families are members of the AOC and have a lot of experience with helping students from the U.S and elsewhere feel comfortable. Jamaican students from the community participate actively in the course adding their knowledge and expertise to the group. After returning to the U.S. on January 9, the students will have time to finish the writing assignments on-line, which should be turned in by January 20, 2008.

This course provides a truly unique opportunity to look beyond the academic literature or superficial tourist experience at how the global, closely interconnected world we live in shapes the lives of people both in the wealthier industrialized United States and in the relatively young independent nation of Jamaica. Amizade’s long-standing relationship with the Association of Clubs, the AOC’s extensive experience in community education and development, the inclusion of local students in the course, and the ideal location near both a large sugar estate and a tourist resort guarantee a rich educational experience for all participants.