Selected Topics in Afro-Caribbean Studies

This course prompts an awareness of Afro - Latin, and Afro - Caribbean culture and experiences. Students will: Emphasize the importance of history to understand the black culture in Costa Rica, Latin America, and the Caribbean in the present-day. - discuss present-day issues - with special consideration of contemporary issues, such as poverty, migration, the development of human rights, and sustainable development concerning Caribbean communities. - discuss the different aspects of Costa Rica’s black heritage, cultural evolution, such as social and political organization, economy, traditions, festivities, and people of influence. - introduce the Caribbean indigenous community dynamics to complement the discussion of social constructs of the “other” in the Caribbean landscape, space, and different historical periods. - explore specific socio-cultural profiles – for example, gender relations within Costa Rican Caribbean culture and the issue of violence in Limon.