TROPICAL ETHNOBOTANY FIELD COURSE
BOCAS DEL TORO, PANAMA JULY 15 - AUGUST 9, 2012
COURSE LOCATION: Institute for Tropical Ecology
and Conservation (ITEC), Bocas del Toro
Biological Station, Boca del Drago, Isla Colon,
Republic of Panama. The biological station is
located on a beach facing the Caribbean Sea.
Coral reef and seagrass ecosystems lie out in
front of the station and lowland tropical
rainforests lie directly behind. The
juxtaposition of the two most biologically
diverse ecosystems along with Panama's rich
cultural diversity provides tremendous
opportunities for education and research. See
http://www.itec-edu/org/index.html for details.
INSTRUCTOR: Jillian De Gezelle, PhD Candidate and
Lecturer, The New York Botanical Garden & The
City University of New York. Email:
[email protected] Phone: (917) 443-5102
Specialty: Ethnobotany, Ethnomedicine, Tropical Plant Ecology
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This 4 week course will
emphasize tropical ethnobotany in the context of
rainforest and island ecosystems. The material
covered is equivalent to an upper level
university course in ethnobotany. Readings and
lectures will focus on the plant use and
traditional cultures of Panama and the
surrounding regions of Central and South America
and the Caribbean, as well as innovative
methodologies and current theory in the
discipline. Much of the course will be spent
learning field techniques and carrying out
various class activities and exercises in the
surrounding rainforest and local communities.
The course will include demonstrations by local
healers, artisans and other specialists who
utilize plants. Students will each complete a
course research project in local ethnobotany
based on their individual interests, under the
direction of an experienced field ethnobotanist.
The field work for these projects will be carried
out with a small group of other students, with
each student having their own focus.
COURSE TOPICS:
o Definition and History of Ethnobotany
o Tropical Forest and Plant Ecology
o Neotropical Plant Families
o Cultures of Bocas del Toro and Panama
o Ethnobotanical Research Project Development
o Research Ethics and Intellectual Property
o Ethnography and Ethnographic Methods
o Gender, Bias, and Gendered Knowledge
o Traditional Medical Systems
o Culture-Bound Syndromes and Spiritual Diseases
o Wild Foods, Medicinal Foods and Traditional Diets
o Tropical Agriculture and Agroforestry
o Psychoactive Plants of the Neotropics
o Conservation and Use of Endangered Plants
o Plant Collection, Pressing and Drying
o Knowledge Elicitation Techniques
o Quantitative Methods in Ethnobotany
o Photo and Video Documentation
o Returning Research Results and Community Projects
SAMPLE OF COURSE READINGS:
o Bletter, N. 2006. Talking Books: A New
Method of Returning Ethnobiological Research
Documentation to the Non-Literate. Economic
Botany 60(1):85-90.
o Calderon, A.I., C.K. Angerhofer, J.M.
Pezzuto, N.R. Farnsworth, R. Foster, R. Condit,
M.P. Gupta, D.D. Soejarto. 2000. Forest Plot as a
Tool to Demonstrate the Pharmaceutical Potential
of Plants in a Tropical Forest of Panama.
Economic Botany 54(3):278-294.
o Dalle, S.P., C. Potvin. 2004.
Conservation of Useful Plants: An Evaluation of
Local Priorities from Two Indigenous Communities
in Eastern Panama. Economic Botany: 58(1):38-57.
o Elvin-Lewis, M. 2006. Evolving Concepts
Related to Achieving Benefit Sharing for
Custodians of Traditional Knowledge. Ethnobotany
Research & Applications 4:075-096.
o Fuller, R.J.M. 2007. Guidelines for Using
Video to Document Plant Practices. Ethnobotany
Research & Applications 5:219-231.
o Gupta, M.P., P.N. Solis, A.I. Calderón,
F. Guinneau-Sinclair, M. Correa, C. Galdames, C.
Guerra, A. Espinosa, G.I. Alvenda, G. Robles and
R. Ocampo. 2005. Medical Ethnobotany of the
Teribes of Bocas del Toro, Panama. Journal of
Ethnopharmacology 96(3):389-401.
o McDade, T.W., V. Reyes-Garcia, P.
Blackinton, S. Tanner, T. Huanca, and W.R.
Leonard. 2007. Ethnobotanical Knowledge is
Associated with Indices of Child Health in the
Bolivian Amazon. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences 104(15):6134-6139.
o Reyes-García, V., N. Martí, T. McDade, S.
Tanner and V. Vadez. 2007. Concepts and Methods
in Studies Measuring Individual Ethnobotanical
Knowledge. Journal of Ethnobiology 27(2):182-203.
o Thomas, E., I. Vandebroek, P. Van Damme.
2007. What Works in the Field? A Comparison of
Different Interviewing Methods in Ethnobotany
with Special Reference to the Use of Photographs.
Economic Botany 6(14):376-384.
o Velasquez Runk, J. 2002. Wouman and
Embera Use and Management of the Fiber Palm
Astrocaryum standelayanum (Aracaceae) for
Basketry in Eastern Panama. Economic Botany
55(1):72-82.
o Voeks, R.A. 2004. Disturbance
Pharmacopoeias: Medicine and Myth from the Humid
Tropics. Annals of the Association of American
Geographers 94(4):868-888.
o Quinlan, M.B. and R.J. Quinlan. 2007.
Modernization and Medicinal Plant Knowledge in a
Caribbean Horticultural Village. Medical
Anthropology Quarterly 21(2):169-192.
REQUIRED TEXT: Martin, Gary J. 2004. Ethnobotany:
A Methods Manual. People and Plants Conservation
Series. Earthscan Publications, London and
Sterling, VA.
FIELD BOOK: A field book will be required in the
course. The field book will contain all data
related to group projects and the independent
research project. The field book should also
contain all other incidental observations such as
species lists, ethnographic notes, etc., and
contain detailed location information. The field
book must be water-proof and either pencil or
water-proof ink used to record data.
TUITION: $2050 USD. Tuition includes all lodging,
meals and airport transfers in Bocas del Toro.
GRADING & CREDIT: Up to 6 units of credit will be
given, 3 for the lecture portion and 3 for the
field portion. A letter grade will be assigned
based on exams, research reports and
presentations, lecture attendance, and
participation in discussions and activities.
Course credit must be arranged at the student's
institution. Contact ITEC for details.
CONTACT: Institute for Tropical Ecology and
Conservation, 2911 NW 40th PL, Gainesville, FL
32605
Phone: (352) 367-9128 Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.itec-edu.org/index.html
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**********************************************************
Peter N. Lahanas, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Institute for Tropical Ecology and Conservation (ITEC)
2911 NW 40th Place, Gainesville, FL 32605, USA
phn: 352-367-9128
web: http://www.itec-edu.org
Bocas del Toro Biological Station
Boca de Drago, Isla Colon, Prov. Bocas del Toro
Republic of Panama
phn: 507-6624-9246
