Skip to content

Programs : Brochure

This page is the brochure for your selected program. You can view the provided information for this program on this page and click on the available buttons for additional options.

EMU Puerto Rico: American Power in Paradise (Outgoing Program)

Print  Save  Share

  • Locations: San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Program Terms: Spring Break
  • Budget Sheets: Spring Break
  • This program is currently not accepting applications.
Dates / Deadlines:

There are currently no active application cycles for this program.
Program Description:

Puerto Rico: American Power in Paradise

El Yunque National ForestEl Yunque National Forest
 
Travel Dates: Feb. 23, 2023 - March 2, 2023
Courses: HIST 479 or 592
Credits: Three
Eligibility: Open to all EMU students in good academic standing and guest students. Must be at least 18 years old at time of travel.
   

Program Overview
Students will learn the history of Puerto Rico with a particular examination of its role as part of America’s Empire. The class will cover the indigenous peoples to the region, the slave trade and sugar plantations, with a major focus on the island after the Spanish-American War of 1898. Trips to Vieques, a pristine island that was occupied by the U.S. military after World War II walking tours around Old San Juan will focus on American influence in Puerto Rico and the territory’s battle over statehood and representation in the United States. Students will have time to explore old San Juan, kayak in a bioluminescent bay, and snorkel or relax at the beach between day trips.

Course Objectives
  • Students will learn who has lived in Puerto Rico and how the island’s industries have changed over time.
  • Students will think critically about America’s role in Puerto Rico’s history from colonizer to “benevolent” ruler.
  • Students will interrogate Puerto Rico’s role in wider American history and thoughtfully interrogate its bids for statehood and recognition in the later twentieth century.

Financial Aid and Scholarships
Financial aid and many EMU scholarships can be applied to the tuition and fees for this program. Visit the Office of Financial Aid for more information

Instructor Information
Ashley Johnson Bavery., Ph.D., (abavery@emich.edu) is a historian of United States immigration, race, and foreign policy. Her book, Bootlegged Aliens: Immigration Politics on America’s Northern Border (Penn 2020) won the First Book Award from the Immigration and Ethnic History Society for its examination of unauthorized immigration in Detroit before World War II. Her current book project explores early Muslim immigration to the American Midwest and draws on local archives, mosque records, and oral histories to understand how Syrians, Palestinians, Bosnians, and Albanians negotiated urban life and forged interethnic and interracial relationships in Chicago and Gary, Indiana. At EMU, she teaches courses on U.S. immigration, urban America, and the U.S. in the world. She also teaches history methods courses and the senior seminar, which she runs in partnership with the EMU Archives.


This program is currently not accepting applications.