2013 Winter Course Announcement (December 20, 2013-January 9, 2014) TROPICAL ETHNOBOTANY FIELD COURSE (TEB W-13)
COURSE LOCATION: Bocas del Toro Biological Station, Boca del Drago, Isla Colon, Republic of Panama. The biological station is located on a hill facing the Caribbean Sea. Coral reef sea grass beds and mangrove ecosystems are 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 <http://www.itec-edu/org/index.html> for details. INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Montserrat Rios, Tropical Ethnobotany and Socio-environmental Development, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador. Email: mrios1...@yahoo.es Phone: (593-9) 9822-11-84. Specialty: Ethnobotany and Socio-environmental Development. COURSE DESCRIPTION: This 3-week course will emphasize tropical ethnobotany in the context of rainforest 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 Central and South America, as well as innovative methods, current theory in the discipline, and ethical frameworks that surround traditional knowledge for long-term conservation. Much of the course will be spent learning field experience 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 fieldwork for these projects will be carried out with a small group of other students, with each student having their own focus. COURSE TOPICS: 1. History and Definition of Ethnobotany: Evolution of the Concept 2. Disciplines and Sciences which Contribute to an Ethnobotanical Study 3. Purpose of Ethnobotany: Old World and New World 4. Ethnobotanical Research Project Development 5. Professional Ethics and Intellectual Property Rights: Protocols in Ethnobotany 6. Fields of Ethnobotanical Research 7. Ethnobotany of Bocas del Toro 8. Qualitative Techniques and Quantitative Methods: Challenges and Considerations 9. Useful Plants Classification: Categories, Implications, and Applications 10. Role of Humans in Diversification of Plants: Wisdom, Gender, and Crops 11. Traditional Health Care: Food and Nature as Medicine 12. Ancient Healers and Local Curing: Medicinal Plants and Drugs Discovery 13. Shamanism, Science, and Spiritual Diseases: Healing is a Fact or Illusion 14. Psychoactive Plants or Channels to Another World: Beverages and Snuffs 15. Food Patterns, Diets, and Wild Edible Plants: Genetic Inheritance 16. Art Expressions, Plants, and Human Cosmologies: Dyes and Paints 17. Ethnobotany and Local Markets: Value of Regional Plant Resources 18. Plant Collection, Pressing, and Drying: Standards for Herbarium Specimens 19. Audio, Photo, and Video Documentation: Guidelines and Reflections 20. Conservation of Useful Plants and Endangered Species 21. Returning Research Results and Community Projects: Ethnobotany Today SAMPLE OF COURSE READINGS: Balick, M.J. 1996. Transforming Ethnobotany for the New Millennium. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 83: 58-66. Bird, C. 1991. Medicines from the rainforest. New Scientist 17: 34-39. Bletter, N. 2006. Talking Books: A New Method of Returning Ethnobiological Research Documentation to the Non-Literate. Economic Botany 60(1):85-90. Bye, R.A. 1993. Role of humans in diversification of plants in Mexico. En: T.P. Ramamoorthy; R. Bye; A. Lot and J. Fa (Eds.), Biological Diversity of Mexico. Origins and Distribution. Oxford University Press. New York. Pp. 707-731. 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. Colvin, J.G. 1992. A Code of Ethics for Research in the Third World. Conservation Biology 6(3). Croom Jr., E.M. 1983. Documenting and Evaluating Herbal Remedies. Economic Botany 31(1): 13-27. 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. Elvin-Lewis, M. 2006. Evolving Concepts Related to Achieving Benefit Sharing for Custodians of Traditional Knowledge. Ethnobotany Research & Applications 4: 075-096. Ford, R.I. 1978. Ethnobotany: Historical diversity and synthesis. En: R.I. Ford (Ed.), The Nature and Status of Ethnobotany. Annals of Arnold Arboretum. Museum of Anthropolgy, University of Michigan. Michigan. Anthropological Papers 67: 33-49. Fuller, R.J.M. 2007. Guidelines for Using Video to Document Plant Practices. Ethnobotany Research & Applications 5:219-231. Gottlieb, O.R. & M.R. de M.B. Borin. 2002. Shamanism or Science? Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 74(1): 135-144. 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 Tribes of Bocas del Toro, Panama. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 96(3):389-401. Harshberger, J.W. 1896. Purposes of Ethnobotany. Botanical Gazette 21(3): 146-154. Martin, G.J. & A. Semple. 1994. Joint ventures in applied ethnobotany. Nature and Resources 30(1): 5-17. Prance, G.T. 2000. Ethnobotany and the future of conservation. Biologist 47(2): 65-68. Quinlan, M.B. & R.J. Quinlan. 2007. Modernization and Medicinal Plant Knowledge in a Caribbean Horticultural Village. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 21(2):169-192. 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. 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. Velasquez Runk, J. 2002. Woman and Embera Use and Management of the Fiber Palm Astrocaryum standelayanum (Aracaceae) for Basketry in Eastern Panama. Economic Botany 55(1):72-82. Voeks, R.A. 1996. Tropical Forest Healers and Habitat Preference. Economic Botany 50(4): 381-400. Voeks, R.A. 2004. Disturbance Pharmacopoeias: Medicine and Myth from the Humid Tropics. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 94(4):868-888. REQUIRED TEXT: Martin, G.J. 2004. Ethnobotany: A Methods Manual. People and Plants Conservation Series. Earthscan Publications. London and Sterling, VA. 268 pp. 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 waterproof and either pencil or water-proof ink used to record data. BOQUETE CLOUD FOREST FIELD TRIP: This field trip will allow students the opportunity to visit other areas of Panama, to experience Panamanian culture, and to visit tropical cloud and seasonal forests first hand. We travel in ITEC boats to the mainland and then by chartered bus to Boquete which lies at the base of 11,000 ft. Volcan Baru. The bus trip will take us up and over the central mountain range and through Palo Seco National Park. Several stops will be made in route. COURSE LENGTH: ITEC Winter field courses are about three weeks in length. The TEB W-13 course will run from December 20, 2013 through January 9, 2014. TUITION: $1850 USD. Tuition fee includes all lodging, meals and airport transfers in Bocas del Toro. The tuition also covers transportation and lodging during the 3-day cloud forest field trip on the mainland. A $100 lab fee is applicable to this course. REGISTRATION DEADLINE: November 20, 2013. The course is limited to 10 students and applications will be evaluated as they arrive. Applications can be found at http://www.itec-edu.org/application.pdf. If you believe that your application may arrive late, notify ITEC. 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: i...@itec-edu.org <mailto:i...@itec-edu.org> , web: http://www.itec-edu.org <http://www.itec-edu.org> . ITEC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1996. ********************************* 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 In Panama: 011-507-6853-2134 laha...@gmail.com Bocas del Toro Biological Station Boca del Drago, Isla Colon, Panama Field Station Manager, Enrique Dixon 011-507-6624-9246
