Living Well: Term III Class Connects With Ecuadorian Culture

Elmira, NY (08/02/2018) — Dr. Lauren Shaw, associate professor of Spanish & Hispanic studies, took a group of students to Ecuador as part of a Term III class focusing on the Ecuadorian Constitution, literature, and indigenous culture.

The course, "Caring forPachamama and Her People," began with two intensive weeks on campus studying the culture and history of Ecuador. In addition, the class studied the current conflict between indigenous communities and oil extraction in the Amazon, which appears to challenge a unique element of the country's constitution. Inspired by the philosophy of el buen vivir (living well), in 2008 Ecuador was the first nation to recognize the rights of Pachamama (Mother Earth) in its constitution. As such it seeks to promote human life in harmony with nature while caring for biodiversity, natural resources, and the biosphere. The course examined literature that portrays the conflict between this willingness to respect Mother Earth and the pressure to exploit her. It included pertinent articles of the Ecuadorian Constitution, a novel based on the realities of the longstanding exploitation on the indigenous, and current indigenous legal battles against multinational oil companies.

Once in Ecuador students engaged with indigenous communities in the Andes and Amazon to experience their cultures and witness their techniques for survival. Some highlights of the trip included: harvesting yucca and making bread from it; monkey, sloth, toucan and anaconda sightings along the Cuyabeno River, a tributary in the Amazon Basin; preparing tortillas; learning the medicinal properties of plants in the Andes; and feeding the llamas. It was the stay with the indigenous community in Imbabura that left the most lasting impression: living a few days in the warmth of indigenous families and the beauty of the Andes Mountains. In contrast to these rural experiences, students visited the colonial cities of Quito and Cuenca where Western culture has predominated since the arrival of the Spaniards.

For more information and student accounts of the trip, please visit the class blog site https://ececuador18.blogspot.com.

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Dr. Lauren Shaw, associate professor of Spanish & Hispanic studies, took a group of students to Ecuador as part of a Term III class focusing on the Ecuadorian Constitution, literature, and indigenous culture.