LMU faculty and staff is invited to join the Center for Mission and Identity to explore questions of indigenous identity and rights, colonialism and post-colonialism, spirituality and justice in Guatemala May 24 – May 31. LMUTW sat down with Kat Brown, director of Mission and Identity Programs to get more information about the exciting opportunity.
LMUTW: This program looks at “questions of indigenous identity and rights, colonialism and post-colonialism, spirituality and justice, and sustainability in the Guatemalan context,” can you tell me more about that? Why did you pick Guatemala, and this issue?
KAT BROWN: The Faculty/Staff Immersion program has run about once a year since 2015. At its inception, the immersion brought faculty and staff to El Salvador and focused particularly on Jesuit history in Central America, including the witness of the Salvadoran Martyrs who were assassinated at the Universidad Centroamericana in San Salvador in 1989. Father Ignacio Ellacuría, the president of the UCA at that time, had spoken powerfully and persistently for many years about the role of Catholic universities. He argued that a Catholic university must “transform the social reality” of which it is a part, “constantly looking at [its] own particular historical reality” and using its position as a university to work for greater justice, peace, and right relationship. In response to their advocacy on behalf of the poor and marginalized in his own Salvadoran context, Fr. Ellacuría and his companion Jesuits were assassinated. It’s a foundational moment in the history of Jesuit education – we just commemorated the 35th anniversary of that event on Nov. 16.
The immersion doesn’t travel to El Salvador every year, but we intentionally honor the memory of the martyrs in several ways. Each cohort begins preparing for their trip by learning about the martyrs and the impact they had not only on the region but Ignatian educational institutions around the world, and how our university is an inheritor of this history and responsibility to work for justice and peace. The martyrs also inform our destinations. Every year we ask, “What is ‘our own particular historical reality’? What injustices and sufferings impact our institution, our community, our nation? Where in the world are others experiencing similar realities, from whose stories and leadership we can learn?” In the past few years, trips have taken us to Costa Rica to learn about migration, displacement, and xenophobia, and to Southern Africa with a focus on racial justice and human rights. All of these are issues that are present and shape our own context at LMU and in the U.S., and we have much to learn from direct encounter with the experience of our brothers, sisters, and neighbors around the world.
This year, we are responding to the “particular realities” of colonialism and indigenous communities in the Americas. As a Catholic university in the southwest United States, we need to be attentive to the way these realities are part of our local and institutional history. Guatemala has its own colonial legacy, and half of its population identifies as Indigenous; incredible work is underway to continue addressing social disparities and pursue greater justice and self-determination for all, especially the historically marginalized. Indigenous Guatemalans are advocates for environmental sustainability, political representation, land and water rights, and more. And, as in many Latin American nations, the relationships between religious/spiritual institutions (including the Catholic Church) and liberation movements are complex and multifaceted. As a Catholic, Jesuit, Marymount university, we assert that faith and justice are intrinsically connected; what does that look like in this particular context? By traveling to Guatemala, we hope to encounter and learn from the experience of Guatemalans as it relates to all of these topics.
LMUTW: What can faculty and staff expect to take away from this experience?
KB: Participants will spend a week in a “learning immersion” environment, encountering voices, stories, and communities in their own context. It’s an opportunity to deepen our knowledge of the world beyond the bluff, build solidarity and accompaniment, and live out the pillars of our mission as individuals and a community. We also build in plenty of time for enjoying local culture, wildlife, and geography, as well as periods for reflection and discussion. I can’t say exactly what the experience will mean for each person on the trip, because every participant’s experience is unique, but I can promise that you won’t come back exactly the same person. (In a good way!)
LMUTW: How do these trips tie into LMU’s mission?
KB: First, these trips are a means to grow deeper in our understanding of a variety of justice issues, at home and abroad, and to reflect on how we might bring our institutional capabilities to work for a more just society and world – responding to Father Ellacuría’s call to “transform social reality” as a Catholic university and to LMU’s mission pillar of “the service of faith and promotion of justice.”
Secondly, the Jesuits and Jesuit leaders have made it very clear over the past few decades that Jesuit universities must educate their members for global citizenship (or mundialización, to use the Spanish term), as part of their work for transformation and whole-person education. This means not only knowing about and appreciating cultural diversity, but understanding ourselves as a worldwide community of persons, whose dignity and future are bound up together. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., famously reminded us to become “whole persons of solidarity for the real world,” and that this solidarity is best fostered through direct encounter: learning from persons and places rather than simply about them. We offer many amazing opportunities for our students to do this, through opportunities like Study Abroad, Alternative Breaks and Ignacio Companions, and global immersion courses to name just a few – but we want to ensure that faculty and staff have opportunities to engage in this type of direct encounter in a global context, as well.
LMUTW: What is a common theme/takeaway that you have heard from folks who have attended these trips in the past?
KB: The most common word that participants use to describe their experience is “transformative.” This transformation can take many forms: for some, it’s an intellectual insight that permanently shifts how they view their work. Others find themselves deeply moved by experiences, conversations, or relationships, and carry on friendships across continents for years after their trip. Still others come away with a new appreciation for their LMU colleagues and the mission of the university itself, and how they understand their own place in it. And of course, none of these are mutually exclusive!
Another theme is how much joy and community are generated. Just a few days ago, we hosted a reunion gathering for participants in past immersions. There was so much laughter in the room, and the cries of welcome that went up every time someone new walked in were testament to the relationships and memories that were formed. Long after we return from the trip, those insights and friendships remain.
How to Apply: Applications for the 2025 Faculty/Staff Immersion are now open through December 13, 2024. Program costs are fully sponsored by the Center for Mission and Identity (including all meals and single accommodations, programming, and comprehensive facilitation and assistance). Participants are expected to attend four preparatory gatherings during the spring 2025 semester, as well as the full program itinerary from orientation to close.
Learn more about the immersion and apply online on the Center for Mission and Identity website.
