This program has been designed by Professors Sabino Morera and Marie Butcher of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in collaboration with Julia Delafield, Director of the Executive Center at the University of Peace in Costa Rica, and in consultation with the MIIS Director of Immersive Professional Learning, Carolyn Meyer. This experiential-learning program will be offered through Language Studies (LS) that will be open to currently enrolled MIIS students, alumni, and Middlebury College students who meet the established criteria (of special interest to upper division students in Spanish Studies and the International and Global Studies programs).
J-term 2023 (Jan 9-21, 2023)
Goals & Overview: The goal of Partnerships for Peace is to provide an in-person immersive-learning experience to participants, who will engage in content related to MIIS’s 3 pillars of peace and security, sustainability, language skills, and intercultural communication, as well as specific UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We have chosen Costa Rica as a case study of how conflict can be transformed into policies for peace and sustainable human development. Participants will collect in-situ data, compile their notes, journal entries, and any interviews into a final presentation during the Partnerships for Peace showcase. Students taking the course for credit will be evaluated on their final deliverable(s) and active participation throughout the program . This course will be of special interest to students pursuing a LSPP (Language Studies for Professional Purposes Specialization.)
Partners
Faculty
Marie Butcher
Professor Marie Butcher serves as the Lead Professor and Program Head of the English for Academic & Professional Purposes Department at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. Professor Butcher is currently completing her Global Leadership Diploma at the University of Peace in Costa Rica. She has extensive experience in CBI curriculum development and has designed graduate-level multilingual conference simulation courses on Climate Change, the Sustainable Development Goals, and Human Rights. Additionally, Professor Butcher has developed CBI curriculum for high school and undergraduate students on mitigating the impacts of climate change, watershed and land conservation, habitat restoration, among other environmental topics through her work at the Carmel River Watershed Conservancy. Professor Butcher has led ELT teacher trainings in the US, China, and Morocco, and is skilled at adapting ELT curriculum to various linguistic and cultural contexts, while focusing on demonstrating how to develop students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills on critical topics. Professor Butcher has also had extensive prior experience leading student trips to Europe (France, Italy, and Spain), East Africa (Kenya & Tanzania), and Central America (Costa Rica). She is passionate about peace, restorative justice, and working in collaboration with others to create sustainable and resilient communities.
Sabino Morera
Professor Sabino Morera is a professional language education, translator, and interpreter. He is currently an assistant professor of Spanish and Latin American policy studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies where he teaches content-based superior Spanish language courses for the master’s programs in international policy, management, and language education. Some of the courses he has designed and taught so far are Democracy and the Rule of Law in Latin America, Citizen Security and Human Development in Latin America, International and Comparative Education in Latin America, U.S. Foreign Policy in Latin America, Professional Public Speaking in Spanish, among others. Lately, he has introduced intercultural competence components in his courses to promote deeper understanding of the diverse Latin American cultures. He has pursued several professional development endeavors, the most recent being the Certificate in Global Leadership granted by the Centre for Executive of the UN-established University for Peace in Costa Rica. After his trip to Cuba with the late Professor Jan Black, he was inspired to spend his sabbatical in Costa Rica developing an immersive program for MIIS students with the University for Peace. In addition to teaching, he has extensive experience working as a free-lance translator and interpreter for the Costa Rican government, the U.S. Embassy and multiple international organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He has also undertaken graduate studies in diplomacy and has served as Minister Counselor for Cultural Affairs and Education of the Costa Rican Embassy in Washington, D.C.
