Cusco was the capital of the former Inca Empire and one of the most important Andean cities during the Spanish colonization of Latin America. With historical sites – just a walk away – that date back more than 600 years, it offers students an unprecedented opportunity to experience the historical process by inhabiting an urban Andean center. The fusion of pre-Incan, Incan, and Spanish colonial cultures has made Cuzco the paradigm of "syncretism" in the Andes, where Catholic Virgins take the shape of mountains, saints don woven alpaca textiles, and the Last Supper is famously painted with a tray of roasted guinea pig. Cusco is also Peru's most visited tourist destination, and tourism, in turn, is Peru's largest contributor to the GDP, which invites students to analyze the affordances and hazards of globalization and to include themselves as analysts within their field of analysis.
Selection Criteria:
- Be 18 years of age or older.
- Be a high school graduate or above.
Registration Deadline: February 1st, 2026
Pre-reqs:
- Spanish 3570 and Spanish 3580 have the prerequisite of Spanish 3060 or approval by department chair.
Destination:
- Cusco, Peru
Program Dates:
July 4th - July 26th, 2026