Beneath southern stars: Reflections on science, culture, and transformation in Chile

Abstract

Chile: Southern Stars is an interdisciplinary study abroad program jointly offered by Juniata College’s Departments of Physics and World Languages and Cultures. Designed around the Forum on Education Abroad’s Standards of Good Practice, it integrates observational astronomy with Chilean cultural, historical, and literary studies. Students prepare through a semester of academic coursework before a two-week field immersion across Chile, visiting sites such as the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, Cerro Tololo Observatory, Gabriela Mistral Museum, and Humboldt Penguin Reserve. Fieldbased learning includes micro-expertise presentations, guided telescope observations, and reflective journals linking celestial phenomena to cultural narratives. Topics span indigenous cosmologies, resource politics, environmental conservation, and poetic representations of the cosmos. Emphasizing ethical engagement, inclusive pedagogy, and integrative reflection, the program fosters disciplinary knowledge, intercultural competence, and personal growth. Chile: Southern Stars demonstrates how place-based, interdisciplinary design can unite science and the humanities in transformative global education.