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Under Chile's Dark Skies, Juniata Course Unites Astronomy and Culture
(Posted February 23, 2026)
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Amy Frazier-Yoder, Sedgley Thornbury Professor of Spanish and chair of World Languages & Cultures, and Matthew Beaky, professor of physics and astronomy
Amy Frazier-Yoder, Sedgley Thornbury Professor of Spanish and chair of World Languages & Cultures, and Matthew Beaky, professor of physics and astronomy
HUNTINGDON, Pa. — Two Juniata College faculty members have been recognized with the 2026 Award for Excellence in Education Abroad Curriculum Design by the Forum on Education Abroad.
Amy Frazier-Yoder, Sedgley Thornbury Professor of Spanish and chair of World Languages & Cultures, and Matthew Beaky, professor of physics and astronomy, co-lead the course, Chile: Southern Stars. This short-term study abroad course integrates scientific inquiry with local knowledge, offering students a rigorous academic experience rooted in place.
“This recognition affirms what makes a Juniata education distinctive — an interdisciplinary approach that ensures that study abroad fosters academic inquiry and cultural understanding,” said Provost Lauren Bowen. “Our faculty design immersive experiences that combine analysis and perspective deeply rooted in our liberal arts tradition.”
Study abroad, based in the Center for International Education at Juniata College, is led by Jamie Weaver, dean of International Education.
“Chile: Southern Stars embodies Juniata´s mission by inviting students to explore new ways of knowing, encounter diverse perspectives, and better understand their place in an interconnected world,” Weaver said. “This course was built on a simple but powerful idea: that transformative learning happens when curriculum, culture, and collaboration intersect with intention.”
Chile’s high elevation, dry climate, and sparse population create some of the clearest and darkest skies on Earth. The South American nation is also known as the “land of poets,” including Nobel laureates Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral. The approach of Chile: Southern Stars unites science and the humanities, spanning astronomy, literature, and cultural studies.
“While astronomy does have its mathematical side, there is much to learn and great joy to be found in simply looking at the night sky and thinking about what it tells us about our place on Earth and in the universe,” said Beaky. “Science begins with human curiosity, and Chile’s dark skies have a way of inspiring that curiosity.”
Whether from the skies or from the immersive cultural experience, inspiration and curiosity are the driving forces behind Chile: Southern Stars.
“Each year, we talk to local artists who are keeping the tradition of making adobe bricks alive. Not only do we learn about the practice, we take part — stomping in the mud and making a few hundred bricks,” Frazier-Yoder said. “We’ve added a visit to Indigenous communities in the northern part of the country to learn about agriculture, religion, and community, and pre-travel studies of these traditions.”
Students hear from guest speakers who share their knowledge in archeoastronomy, a field at the intersection of science and the humanities that studies how past cultures understood, interpreted, and utilized astronomical knowledge. The course also includes an exploration of the impacts of lithium mining, both positive and negative.
“I could lead a fun and engaging study abroad program in Chile focused solely on astronomy, and Amy could do the same with a program focused on Chilean culture and history,” Beaky said. “But when we bring the two together, students see how the poet Gabriela Mistral writes so lovingly about the night sky, and how Indigenous views of the sky still resonate in modern Chile. These deep and often hidden connections are best illuminated by an interdisciplinary teaching approach.”
That same sense of wonder extends beyond the telescope.
“Students are asked to draw connections across disciplines. They take a scientific approach to night sky observations, but also learn how the Atacameñan people looked to the dark places in the night sky and identified these shapes as animals, such as Yacana, the llama,” Frazier-Yoder said. “This allowed them to anticipate and track wet and dry seasons and know when to plant. We’ve found academic landscapes where the materials truly meet in the middle. Astronomy sheds light on cultural traditions and vice versa.”
From short-term faculty-led courses to semester and yearlong programs, Juniata’s study abroad options are designed to fit a wide range of academic goals and interests. To learn more about where a Juniata education can take you, visit juniata.edu.
Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.