Oakton Community College receives Fulbright to study Bolivia and Peru

Oakton Community College has received a $94,595 Fulbright Group Projects Abroad grant to fund "Indigenous Voices at the Frontier of a Globalized World: Bolivia and Peru," a 35-day in-country study seminar for a team of Illinois and Wisconsin community college and high school educators next summer.

Previously, Oakton received a Fulbright grant from the U.S. Department of Education to take a team of educators to India. The grants are rarely given to community colleges.

The program will involve 14 educators from Oakton; the colleges of DuPage and Lake County; Madison Area Technical College; and Evanston Township, Maine West, Maine East, and Niles North High Schools.

"Oakton has a deep commitment to global studies," said Professor Katherine Schuster, coordinator of Global Studies, who will direct the program.

"In the traditional Western/non-Western dichotomy of humanities curricula, the histories and cultures of indigenous peoples of the Americas are often given short shrift or only superficially addressed," she said. "We aim to remedy this shortcoming."

Participants will study an indigenous language, explore uses of native medicinal plants, tour microlending projects, learn about the role of indigenous women in social movements and participate in a three-day rural homestay. They will visit archaeological sites, agricultural communities, peasant villages, and stay two days with ethnic groups in the rain forest.

On their return, participants will develop curriculum and programs that incorporate the lessons learned in South America in courses of study at their educational institutions. Oakton will add two courses on globalization and indigenous culture, and launch a study abroad program in Peru.