Skip to content
Honors
Home Human Rights and Resources Mexico

HUMAN RIGHTS AND RESOURCES - MEXICO

Learn how the unequal distribution of natural and cultural resources shapes the human experience, both within and beyond the traditional language of human rights. Topics include the management of natural resources such as water and land, protection of minority languages, public transport in the megacity, art and protest, and the diverse lives of indigenous people in modern Mexico, all in the context of an ongoing general education in Mexican history and continual opportunities to improve your Spanish in immersive environments.

Study Abroad at a Glance

 

  • Locations: Oaxaca & Mexico City 
  • Duration: 4 weeks (mid-May to mid-June) 
  • Credits: 7 credits abroad (19 total in the minor) 
  • Cost: ~$5,700 + airfare 
  • Eligibility: Honors students  
  • Cohort Size: ~15 students 
  • Scholarships available for all need-based students

Why Choose Human Rights and Resources?

Join a tight-knit cohort of like-minded peers.
Learn directly from Mexican people, including indigenous leaders, artists, legal professionals, scientists, social workers, and farmers.
Improve your Spanish in a supportive, fun, and immersive environment.
Gain real-world experience that will enhance your professional career.
Connect scientific forms of thinking to broader humanistic and ethical issues.
Explore global human rights challenges such as food security and resource allocation through hands-on learning in local environments.
Learn about key histories that inform modern life and politics in both Mexico and the United States.
Priority consideration for the Community Advocacy Fellow Program with the Tanner Center for Human Rights.
Community Advocacy Fellow Program

Experience the Journey Through Students’ Eyes

See how our most recent Human Rights & Resources cohort documented their study abroad experience in Mexico. This student-run Instagram account features daily photos, personal reflections, and behind-the-scenes glimpses into the program’s immersive learning, cultural exploration, and community engagement.

What Students Say

Learning in Action

The Human Rights and Resources Integrated Minor in Mexico creates a powerful blend of cultural immersion, hands-on learning, and critical inquiry that defines the program - from shaping pottery and making adobe bricks in Oaxaca and exploring ancient ruins of Monte Albán, to engaging with sustainable agriculture in Xochimilco, understanding justice movements, and visiting the National Autonomous University of Mexico. These moments reflect how students connect classroom learning to real-world experiences, building a deeper understanding of human rights, resource stewardship, and the communities that bring these lessons to life.

Required Courses for the Minor

Each course in the minor is designed to deepen your understanding of global issues while connecting theory to lived experience—culminating in a transformative study abroad opportunity in Mexico.

Use the dropdowns below to learn more about each required course and how they contribute to the program’s unique academic and experiential framework.

  • SEMESTER: FALL

    CREDITS: 3

    This survey course explores and analyzes the Mexican collective imaginary through its cultural heritage and identity from pre-Hispanic to contemporary times. Delving into Mexican history and culture, the curriculum seeks to deconstruct the concept and meaning of the Mexican Collective Imaginary through the theoretical lens of cultural studies by responding to the following questions: 1) What is the Mexican Collective Imaginary, and what socio-historical elements have shaped it and continue to endure within it? 2) How is the Mexican Collective Imaginary and its pre-Hispanic heritage reflected in contemporary literature, film, art, and other cultural manifestations? 3) What is the cultural contribution of the Mexican Collective Imaginary to the rest of Latin America and the global world, including Chicanx culture? The class will attempt to answer these questions by analyzing key Mexican historical periods or events, from pre-Columbian indigenous civilizations to contemporary times, through the examination of primary and secondary sources. Fundamental importance will be given to the influence of indigenous cultures on the formation of the Mexican Collective Imaginary.  

    In this class, readings are primarily in English, with options to read in Spanish. Our focus will be on the close reading and analysis of selected cultural artifacts and texts spanning various fiction and non-fiction literary genres, films, documentaries, interviews, and other digital media, which will be instrumental in comprehending how the Mexican Collective Imaginary has been forged throughout time.  

  • SEMESTER: SPRING

    CREDITS: 3

    Energy moves through all Earth’s systems. Ancient solar energy is stored in geologic reserves. Plants convert sunlight to sugars, providing the basis for how energy moves through organisms as food. The human legacy on Earth is intertwined with both these energy sources, which we leverage to generate stunning technological advances while also creating some of the most pressing environmental and humanitarian issues ever faced.

    This course promotes an understanding of what energy is, how it is used in human society, and the benefits and trade-offs of different types of energy production—cross-cutting concepts important to informed citizens in the 21st century. Students will engage with lectures, readings, experts, and class sessions devoted to applying concepts, practicing skills, and engaging in experiential exercises to promote a deeper understanding of the relationship between energy and society.

    As part of this class, students will explore current energy-related events in Mexico, enhancing understanding not only of energy but also of the region's economic, environmental, and social dynamics.

  • SEMESTER: SUMMER

    CREDITS: 3

    Mexico has long loomed large in the imagination of the United States. Indeed, large portions of the country now known as the USA were once part of Mexico, and you likely need no introduction to the role that “Mexico” plays in US politics. While the relationship between the two countries is of unquestionable importance on both sides of the border, this course will try to avoid merely comparative treatments that reflexively subordinate Mexico to our own experiences as Americans or that understand Mexico solely in relation to its putative identity as an American “interest.”   

    Rather than ask Mexico to relate to us, we will seek instead to relate to it. The linguistic and cultural immersion of Honor 2900 represents a central part of that work, and this course will build on that commitment with readings and assignments that expand the breadth of our knowledge of key topics pertaining to human rights and resources in Mexico. Inside and outside the classroom, we will think about the theory, history, and practice of human rights, particularly in relation to “resources” (a capacious term encapsulating the cultural and natural alike, along with the complex relationships that exist between them).  

     

  • SEMESTER: SUMMER

    CREDITS: 3

    This course invites students to move beyond touristical roles and enter those of the critical observer, the immersive learner, and the engaged global citizen. Focused on the lived realities of the host region, students gain competency in key categories such as language, local traditions, social structure, and other forms of culture through first-hand experience in their host country. Whether engaged in field-based research, reflective observation, or site visits, participants gain a deeper understanding of their community’s place as part of a larger whole, while also learning to think about the difference that their own presence makes. By balancing academic inquiry with intentional, “unhurried” interaction with locals, students emerge with a heightened awareness of the political, social, or linguistic forces that are defining our shared future.

     

  • SEMESTER: SUMMER

    CREDITS: 1

  • SEMESTER: ANY SEMESTER

    CREDITS: 3

    Students will deepen their studies by choosing a human rights-focused elective from a pre-approved list or an approved elective from any department by the director. 

    *Please note, minor electives will only fulfill honors minor requirements (not full honors degree requirements) unless they are also HONOR, HON-designated, or Honors contract eligible courses.

  • SEMESTER: ANY SEMESTER

    CREDITS: 3

    Approved Latin-American language or culture elective 

    *Please note, minor electives will only fulfill honors minor requirements (not full honors degree requirements) unless they are also HONOR, HON-designated, or Honors contract eligible courses.

Christopher Mead

Chris Mead is the Faculty Director for the Human Rights and Resources Integrated Minor and serves as the trip leader for the Mexico program.

He grew up in British Columbia and then attended college on the Canadian prairies, at the University of Manitoba. After completing his MA (also at Manitoba), he lived in London and Montreal for several years before moving to the US to begin graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his Ph.D. in early modern English literature.  

In Honors, he teaches courses in Intellectual Traditions and Human Rights, and is currently serving as Faculty Director of the Honors Integrated Minor in Human Rights and Resources, which is running tracks in Mexico and East Asia. For him, some of the greatest pleasures of Honors are found in its intellectual diversity and disciplinary flexibility. He welcome conversations with students about topics relating to the Human Rights and Resources minor, Latin America, his research interests (which historically have focused on the relationship between technology and religion), and really, whatever happens to be on your mind. 

Want more information on the Integrated Minor in Human Rights and Resources in Mexico? Request info here.