On September 20, 2017, Hurricane María struck the island of Puerto Rico with catastrophic force, shattering lives, communities, infrastructure and the physical environment. One year later, Puerto Rico remains in the grips of an ongoing and systematic crisis.

In June 2018, teams from the University of Michigan and the University of Notre Dame traveled to Puerto Rico to film testimonies from Puerto Ricans from all walks of life. In this Teach-Out, you will hear powerful narratives of loss and recovery, abandonment and resilience, failure and hope as you come to better understand Puerto Rico’s past, present, and future.

These individual testimonials are complemented by resources that are meant to deepen your understanding of an urgent multidimensional crisis that involves policy, culture and history, political economy, environmental loss, civil infrastructure, public health, and human dignity. In this teach-out, we spotlight a number of successful organizations, strategies and solutions that are contributing to Puerto Rico’s recovery.

Understanding begins with listening. But “listening” is not just about hearing people’s words: it also implies taking notice of, and acting on, what people say. Shaped by the individual experience of everyday life, the Listening to Puerto Rico Teach-Out invites you to hear many voices from a distressed but resilient island and discover how you can contribute to the island’s recovery.

This Teach-Out is a collaboration between the University of Michigan and the University of Notre Dame.

Please join us in listening to Puerto Rico.