COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Participating students may enroll for as many as 7 credits per summer session. All students must enroll for one morning and one afternoon class. All students must take at least 1 course for full credit. The second course may either be taken for full credit or for the 1 credit audit option.
Please see below for the list of classes offered during each summer session. The 300 & 400 level courses are for undergraduate credit and the 500 level courses are for graduate credit.
FIRST SESSION CULTURE/MORNING CLASSES:
ASB/PLB/REL 494/591: Amazonian Ethnobotany (1-3 credits). This is a basic, introductory course designed to review the different aspects of ethnobotany, including people's past and present use of plants for food, medicine, shelter, lothing, etc. The focus will be on plants from the Upper Rio Napo valley, though some discussion of other cultures, including modern North America, will take place. This class is crosslisted under the Anthropology (ASB), Plant Biology (PLB), and the Religious Studies (REL) rubrics.
ASB 494/591: Health, Population & Nutrition of the Indigenous People of the Upper Napo (3 credits). This course serves as an introduction to the health, nutrition and population conditions and concerns of the Quichua speaking peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The course examines the health issues of indigenous peoples in the Amazon in general, and the specific concerns of the Quichua people of Napo Province, Ecuador. We will examine the diet and nutritional concerns of Quichua people, and examine fertility, and mortality patterns. This course will also present the existing ethnomedical, ethnobotanical and ethnophamcological systems, local health and nutrition knowledge and access to both traditional and biomedical health and nutrition resources. We will draw on local experts in traditional health, including yachajs (ayahuasca shamans), herbalists, traditional birth attendants and health promoters. We will observe a yachaj at work. We will visit local clinics and the largely indigenous clinic/hospital in Mondaña and interview practitioners and patients.
ASB/REL 494/591: Amazonian Culture & Sustainable Environment I (1-3 credits).* Prerequisites: basic ability to speak and understand Spanish. Students may sign up for this crosslisted course under either the Anthropology rubric (ASB) or the Religious Studies rubric (REL). Course requirements: 1) Critical field journal, and 2) written research project 10-20 pages.
BIS 401 Internship: is an internship class that places the student in a practical work situation in various aspects of Amazonian conservation and development.
BIS 402 Capstone Course: “Amazonian Culture and Sustainable Development” is a capstone course that provides the theoretical framework for the internship experience. The class examines Amazonian culture as a set of resources or opportunities as well as challenges to sustainable development. In particular it explores areas of common cross-cultural miscommunication and conflict between native communities and non-native institutions working in the areas of environment, health, and business. The course explores how these areas of misunderstanding can be turned into opportunities for improved cooperation and learning. Throughout the course participants visit various organizations and listen to talks from people with years of experience doing business in the Amazon.
REL 332: South American Religious Traditions (3 credits). This course is appropriate for undergraduates or for graduate students who do not meet the Spanish skills requirements for "Field Study of Andean/Amazonian Cultures" listed previously. All materials will be translated into English. This course fulfills the ASU General Studies requirements in 1) Humanities and Fine Arts, and 2) Global Awareness. Course requirement: Critical field journal analyzing the learning experiences of each dayFIRST SESSION, LANGUAGE/AFTERNOON CLASSES:
FLA 494/590: Beginning Quichua (4 credits): This course provides students with immersion-based instruction in Quichua (Runa Shimi) as it is currently spoken in Ecuador (Napo and Otavalo dialects). Fundamentals of the language are covered. Emphasis on listening and speaking.
FLA 494/590: Advanced Quichua (4 credits): Emphasis on the development of fluency in conversation. Students engage in more advanced study of Quichua semantics to deepen their understanding of the Andean/Amazonian symbolic world.
SPA 101: Elementary Spanish: (4 credits): Intensive study of the fundamentals of the language. Emphasizes listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Credit is allowed for only SPA 101 or 111. 4 hours lecture, 1 hour lab. SPA Note 1: Students who have completed their secondary education in a school where Spanish was the official language of instruction should begin their studies at the 325 level or above. No student who has completed more than two years of high school in a Spanish-speaking country, where Spanish is the medium of instruction in the school, is allowed to register in a Spanish language class below the 400 level.
SPA 201: Intermediate Spanish: (4 credits): Continuation of fundamentals. Emphasizes the development of the skills of reading, listening comprehension, speaking, writing, and culture. 4 hours lecture, 1 hour lab. Prerequisite: SPA 102 or 111.
General Studies: G
SPA Note 1: Students who have completed their secondary education in a school where Spanish was the official language of instruction should begin their studies at the 325 level or above. No student who has completed more than two years of high school in a Spanish-speaking country, where Spanish is the medium of instruction in the school, is allowed to register in a Spanish language class below the 400 level.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECOND SESSION, CULTURE/MORNING CLASSES :
ASB/REL 494/591: Amazonian Culture & Sustainable Environment II (1-3 credits).* Prerequisites: basic ability to speak and understand Spanish. Students may sign up for this crosslisted course under either the Anthropology rubric (ASB) or the Religious Studies rubric (REL). Course requirements: 1) Critical field journal, and 2) written research project 10-20 pages.
PLB 498/591: Neotropical Plant Biology (1-3 credits). Students will be introduced to the enormous plant diversity of the Ecuadorian tropics. The course will focus on three main subjects: forest ecology, plant taxonomy, and human interaction. A mixture of lecture and hands-on teaching techniques will be used to convey to the students a broad knowledge of the complex processes and relationships that have co-evolved within tropical ecosystems. Prerequisites: read all required readings prior to traveling to Ecuador.
REL 305: Myth, Ritual, and Symbol: Amazon and Andes (3 credits).This course is a field study of Andean/Amazonian myth, ritual, and symbol. Students read background articles on various topics and then observe living examples of Andean/Amazonian myth, ritual, and symbol in their lived contexts. Field learning experiences are followed by guided class discussion of Andean/Amazonian symbols in English. This course is appropriate for undergraduates or for graduate students who do not have strong Spanish skills. It fulfills the ASU General Studies requirements in 1) Literacy and Critical Inquiry, and 2) Humanities and Fine Arts. (Graduate students can enroll in this course under the REL 494 rubric.) Course requirement: Critical field journal analyzing the learning experiences of each day.
SECOND SESSION , LANGUAGE/AFTERNOON CLASSES:
FLA 494/590: Beginning Quichua (4 credits). This course provides students with immersion-based instruction in Quichua (or Runa Shimi) as it is currently spoken in Ecuador (Napo and Otavalo dialects). Fundamentals of the language are covered. Emphasis on listening and speaking
FLA 494/590: Intermediate Quichua (4 credits). Continuation of Beginning Quichua. Emphasis on the development of the skills of reading, listening comprehension, speaking, writing, and cultural meaning
FLA 494/590: Advanced Quichua (4 credits). Emphasis on the development of fluency in conversation. Students engage in more advanced study of Quichua semantics to deepen their understanding of the Andean/Amazonian symbolic world
SPA 102: Elementary Spanish: (4 credits). See SPA 101. Credit is allowed for only SPA 102 or 111. Prerequisite: SPA 101 (or its equivalent).
SPA Note 1: Students who have completed their secondary education in a school where Spanish was the official language of instruction should begin their studies at the 325 level or above. No student who has completed more than two years of high school in a Spanish-speaking country, where Spanish is the medium of instruction in the school, is allowed to register in a Spanish language class below the 400 level.
SPA 202: Intermediate Spanish: (4 credits). See SPA 201. Prerequisite: SPA 201 (or its equivalent).
General Studies: G
SPA Note 1: Students who have completed their secondary education in a school where Spanish was the official language of instruction should begin their studies at the 325 level or above. No student who has completed more than two years of high school in a Spanish-speaking country, where Spanish is the medium of instruction in the school, is allowed to register in a Spanish language class below the 400 level.
Courses
