"While there is still much work to be done, many LGBTQ activists and allies in the U.S. are celebrating the watershed this country has experienced in terms of same-sex marriage, expanding legal protections, and greater recognition of trans people. Social changes like these represent hard-won victories, and can help us better understand the historical and cultural context in which change is imagined, created, and ultimately sustained.

This program asks the question: What do LGBTQ communities and organizations look like in another context, a context which is physically close to the U.S. but has a very different culture and history? To help answer this question, our program explores the links between queer movements in the U.S. and Mexico, and how they might influence each other.

Our learning goal: Through an interdisciplinary curriculum comprised of literature, history, ethnography and creative nonfiction, as well as site visits to local community organizations, students will develop shared vocabulary and understand the fundamentals of power, privilege, identity, LGBTQ issues, migration, public health and global North/South relations.

Our time in Mexico City and surrounding areas will introduce students to local LGBTQ activists, organizations, and change-makers. We will learn from our community partners about how a country’s history shapes its LGBTQ communities. Questions we will engage include: What can we learn from the challenges and successes of LGBTQ communities in Mexico’s capital as they work to mobilize and create change throughout the country? How does the contemporary landscape of migration affect identity issues in Mexico? How do LGBTQ rights intersect with other areas of human rights in the country such as environmental justice, women’s rights, access to education, etc.? How does Mexican urban politics relate to rural realities and lives? Coursework will consist of group projects, classroom lecture and discussion, field excursions, site visits, individual analysis, and creative writing assignments."