Maryville College
ER-12: Sustainability Immersive Experience

Ecotourism, Arts & Culture in Costa Rica: Course Experiential Trip Abroad Course description & objectives This experiential course will have students travel to Costa Rica, and expose them to a series of artistic, cultural and ecotourism events and experiences in that nation. The goal of the course is to make participants more aware of the complexities created, and choices made, when immersed in a range of experiences where nature and modern society intersect. Our course’s guiding question is: “In what ways do humans see their planet?” Course Expectations It is expected that by the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate competency in: - The ability to travel and interact with local persons in developing and industrialized nations beyond just the surface level - Understand the basic principles of ecotourism, sustainablity and biodiversity as it is related to the region of Costa Rica and how it affects the local population - Evaluate and analyze art and architecture from the region of Costa Rica and have a working knowledge of the culture and visual style of Pre-Columbian and Post modern Costa Rican artworks - Awareness of the complexities created, and choices made, when immersed in a range of experiences where nature and modern society intersect. - Ability to critically evaluate and analyze their travel interactions through written, verbal and visual forms of expression -Gain a greater appreciation for the natural and human-made objects that we interact with everywhere on the planet