The course will support independent yet collaborative student projects in four Maya communities.  Students will be in these communities for two months undertaking research projects they will have developed over the previous months in their pre-requisite course.  This course will highlight the contextual knowledge and skills needed for students to situate the information they will amass through their community-based research.  Skills emphasized will be archival research, collection of appropriate primary resources, and the ability to identify necessary contextual resources.  Building on community-based research models the faculty and students will work directly with an advisory board from the four communities made up of local academic experts.  These advisors will serve a primary audience for student research.  At appropriate intervals students will come together to do collective problem-solving and share insights.  Students will be evaluated and will evaluate themselves on both the process of their research and their final research presentation.  As a final product, students will produce a presentation of their research for the communities where they have worked.  Students will also present their research in Guatemala to an academic audience as well.

Level:  Advanced.  Limited to students participating in the College's Guatemala Program.