Global Education

Coffee International Seminar

International Seminar: Production and Place--Coffee Production in Guatemala
SO291/SW291
December 30, 2008 - January 11, 2009

So what does it really take to make a cup of coffee?
The social network that stretches from your coffee cup all the way back to that little tree nestled somewhere on a tropical mountainside is vast and complex. This seminar will introduce its participants to some of the people and processes that make up this network.

We will get to know the people who cultivate the soil, tend the trees, and pick the cherries in the coffee fields of Guatemala. We will work alongside them, share meals with them, and hear their stories. We will meet the people who extract the beans from the fleshy fruit and who wash, sort, and grade them. We will talk with the people who buy and sell the beans, who transport them, who roast them, and who prepare and package them for sale on the retail market. We will observe the conditions of exchange that inhere between the parties all along the chain. We will examine various ways in which these processes have been organized, and we will hear what Guatemalans say about how those various arrangements have impacted their lives, their families, and their communities.

In short, this international seminar will try to make visible much of what we unwittingly take for granted when we pour that cup of coffee. In doing so, it should prompt reflection on the responsibilities that we share as consumers, as citizens, and as followers of Jesus in an increasingly interdependent world.

To learn more about one student's experience in the seminar, visit the Coffee Seminar photojournal.

PARTICIPANTS

This seminar is open to all Gordon students. There are no prerequisites, no preferred majors, and no restrictions concerning class standing. We are looking for 14 students from across a variety of majors who want to see for themselves what it takes to produce and deliver a labor-intensive commodity like coffee for a global market.

SEMINAR LEADERS

Kirk McClelland (Director of Service Learning & Missions, Chapel Office)
Margie DeWeese-Boyd (Associate Professor, Department of Sociology & Social Work)
Daniel Johnson (Associate Professor, Department of Sociology & Social Work)
Two Guatemalans serving the group as interpreters, guides, and fellow discussants

LOCATIONS

Seminar participants will meet for one day on the Gordon campus before flying out of Logan Airport to Guatemala City. The seminar will travel to and stay in multiple locations across the western highlands of Guatemala. Travel between sites will be by small bus. Housing will generally be in hotels or lodges, with the possibility of a few nights in churches. Participants should have access to private shower and toilet facilities in all locations.

CURRICULUM
Participants will be required to complete several assigned readings and engage in discussions about those readings on two separate occasions on-campus prior to the trip. The first seminar session will be held on Saturday, December 6, 2008 from 9 a.m. until 12 noon. The second session will convene late in the afternoon (and over dinner) on Monday, December 29, 2008 which is the day before our scheduled departure for Guatemala. Participants will be expected to continue with some additional light reading while in the field in Guatemala, although the seminar discussions throughout that time will focus far more on our experiences and observations while there. We will spend our final two days in the country in retreat on Lake Atitlan--a time of more focused reflection, reading and discussion. About two and a half weeks after returning to Gordon, we will come back together for the first of two debriefing and synthesis sessions on Saturday, January 30, 2009 from 9 a.m. Until 12 noon; the final seminar session date is still to be determined.

Each participant will also complete a participatory learning project, either individually or as a member of a self-constituted workgroup. The project can take a wide variety of different forms, subject to instructor approval. That approval must be secured by January 16, 2009 while the final project itself is due on February 7, 2009.

CREDITS
Students will receive four undergraduate course credits, which will appear on their transcripts as SO291/SW291 International Seminar: Production and Place-Coffee Production in Guatemala. Students must register for this course during the fall registration period. However, these credits are treated separately and do not count as added credits on the spring semester load.

COSTS
The approximate total cost for the program is $3,300** which includes tuition, round trip airfare from Boston to Guatemala City, entrance fees, room and board, as well as ground transportation.

**NOTE: Actual cost dependent on final airfare rate and the valuation of the dollar when travel expenses are arranged.

Students will submit a $130 nonrefundable fee with their application ($30 application fee and $100 program deposit). The remainder will be billed to student accounts during the fall billing period. Full details are available from Student Financial Services.

Participants are required to acquire their own passports and secure any needed immunizations.

APPLICATION
Click here for the online application form for the Coffee International Seminar. Non-Gordon students wishing to apply should click on the application link on the left.

A $130 check made payable to Gordon College must be delivered to the Global Education Office by May 9, 2008.

Deadline for submission is Friday, May 9, 2008. Students will be notified of acceptance by May 12, 2008.

CONTACT
For further information contact:
The Global Education Office
p: 978.867.4399
e: geo@gordon.edu

Mr. Kirk McClelland
p: 978.867.4216
e: kirk.mcclelland@gordon.edu

Dr. Daniel C. Johnson
p: 978.867.4407
e: dan.johnson@gordon.edu

Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts, is among the top Christian colleges in the nation and the only nondenominational Christian College in New England. Gordon is committed to excellence in liberal arts education, spiritual development and academic freedom informed by a framework of faith.