Lessons from Octavio Paz in Online Intercultural Learning: Outcomes of a Mexican-US Collaborative Course

Authors

  • Alejandro Herrán Autonomous University of Chiapas
  • Ivonne Alvarez Autonomous University of Chiapas
  • Adriana Flores Castillo Autonomous University of Chiapas
  • Corina Giacomello Autonomous University of Chiapas
  • Emil Nagengast Juniata College

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59673/amag.v2i2.84

Keywords:

COIL, online learning, decolonization, intercultural communication, Octavio Paz

Abstract

Octavio Paz helped us to understand the cultural shortcomings of our collaborative online international learning (COIL) course.  We brought together 35 Mexican and US students in a virtual exchange and instructed them to create a bilateral migration agreement in one semester without our assistance or interference. The ambiguity of the assignment, and the students’ autonomy in completing the task, required them to figure out how to collaborate across the political, cultural and linguistic divides. In preparation for this course, we studied much of the literature on how to build a COIL course, but we did not understand the importance of decolonizing our intercultural project.  In our assessment of the course, we discovered the relevance of Paz’s analysis of Mexican and US cultures and of Mexican-US relations. His insights explain why power imbalances emerged and how they obstructed the intercultural communication that we had hoped to achieve in our COIL course.

Author Biographies

Alejandro Herrán, Autonomous University of Chiapas

Professor and researcher at the Legal Research Institute of the Autonomous University of Chiapas. Herrán is a Fulbright Scholar and professor or Human Rights.

Ivonne Alvarez, Autonomous University of Chiapas

Professor and researcher at the Legal Research Institute of the Autonomous University of Chiapas. Alvarez co-leads a migration project funded by the Mexican National Science, Humanities and Technology Counsel.

Adriana Flores Castillo, Autonomous University of Chiapas

Professor and researcher at the Legal Research Institute of the Autonomous University of Chiapas. She is a professor specialized in legal history.

Corina Giacomello, Autonomous University of Chiapas

Professor and researcher at the Legal Research Institute of the Autonomous University of Chiapas. She is a sociologist specialized in drug policy and gender.

Emil Nagengast, Juniata College

Professor of Politics at the Politics Department at Juniata College, he specializes in international politics.

Downloads

Published

2024-08-18

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2024): AMAG

Section

Essays