Language and Culture Institute

The 2007 programs in Mexico will mark the thirtieth year of study abroad program efforts annually undertaken by the MSCD Language and Culture Institute (LCI). The LCI was organized in the Winter of 1977 under the joint sponsorship of the Departments of Chicano Studies and Modern Languages. Initially the programs operated only in the Summer and spent six weeks in Mexico. In 1979 the programs were reorganized and the six week period split into three weeks of intensive study at MSCD and three weeks in Mexico. That format continued until the Summer program was installed at the University of Guadalajara in 1993.

The first Winter program was celebrated in January 1984. It featured the Mayan culture of the Yucatán Peninsula. With the exception of the Winter 1989, programs have been offered regularly since the first pilot program. The Spring 1998 activity represented the thirty-seventh program offered in Mexico by the LCI since its inception.

In Spring 1993, MSCD in cooperation with the American Institute for Foreign Studies (AIFS) inaugurated the Semester in Guadalajara program. This program, which sent students to the Universidad de Guadalajara for intensive language study, operated for two years. The initial effort was a twelve week program conducted during the Spring semester of 1993. The Summer 1993 program was five and one half weeks in length and was part of the Summer semester in Mexico. Since that time the Guadalajara Semester program has moved to a year-around schedule offering study opportunities in the Fall, Spring and Summer. A guiding force in this evolution has been Dr. David Conde.

Directing the present programs is Professor Josafat Curti of the Department of Modern Languages. He works under the auspices of the Institute for International Studies and Services and the LCI. Coordinating the Guadalajara Semester Program is Professor Celia Mendizábal, the former Director of the AIFS at the University of Guadalajara. Professor Josafat Curti coordinates the travel portion of the activity. Both are assisted by other Mexican and American staff. The program features ten weeks of intensive study in Spanish, cultural tours, and visits to Puerto Vallarta and Mexico City. Please contact Professor Curti at (303) 556-2908 for more information on these programs of study.