Nations and Identities:
Intercultural Dialogue on Democracy
Itinerary     Curriculum

Note: This program will not be offered in 2009. Please inquire with IHP for further details about the program.

Fall Semester, 16 credits
August 2008-December 2008

Across the world, colonization and economic development have resulted in the displacement, subordination and discrimination of hundreds of millions of people, many of them indigenous and tribal. On an ever increasing scale, these cultures and communities are resisting and affirming their presence. While these diverse groups are facing some of the most difficult challenges ever, they are also demonstrating numerous ways of how to make our fragile planet culturally plural, socially just, economically feasible and ecologically sane. In the process, three of the most hallowed processes of over five centuries are being contested—the modern nation-state, representative democracy and development.

The program will examine not only how nation-states are being challenged by both global forces and internal groups but also how diverse communities seeking recognition of their cultural and collective rights are highlighting critical issues—their interdependence on the natural systems that they live in; their growing frustrations with the representative systems of government and their efforts to establish indigenous and radical democratic institutions; their quest to live culturally fulfilling lives; their creative and innovative ways of reclaiming their economies with proposals to reorganize the global economy, affirming the personal and the political, and rethinking development. In the process, a dramatic redefinition of culture, gender, community, the social and the political, and ecological interdependence and stewardship are emerging.

The program will immerse you in these cutting edge ways in which people all over the world are a source of inspiration and hope to people all over the world seeking a more just and ecologically secure world. They demonstrate through their analysis and action the need to define ways for mutual sharing and learning between cultures, to engage in dialogue across contentious lines and affirm diversity and the harmonious collaboration of all cultures.

We will be hosted by three organizations currently devoted to the notion of intercultural dialogue and engagement:
Intercultural Institute of Montreal  (Montreal, Canada) 
Intercultural Resource Center (Delhi, India)
Centro de Encuentros y Diálogos Interculturales (Oaxaca, Mexico)

Accommodations:  On the Nations and Identities program you can expect to stay in a variety of accommodations, including hotels/hostels, retreat centers, community centers and homestays.

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