Academics
Credit
Students will receive 6 Maryland Credits for one of the following:
ANTH 495 (Ethnographic Fieldwork),ANTH 698C (Advanced Field Training in Ethnology).
LASC 448C (Special Topics in Latin American Studies:
Brazilian Ethnography).
Course Goals
This six-credit course will consider conservation and development from the standpoints of local communities and conservationists. The objectives of the field course are to gain an understanding of:- Socio-economic dynamics of the Amazonian frontier and drivers of deforestation;
- Tropical forest biology with special attention to regeneration;
- Forest-dependent indigenous and local cultures and their struggle to determine the future of the land and communities that depend upon it
Course Structure
The course will convene in the state of Pará in Belém and then proceed to the frontier town of Tucumã, Pará. Tucumã is a typical Amazonian frontier town founded originally on gold-mining and now fueled principally by ranching and a nearby nickel mine. Tucumã is also the healthcare base for eastern Kayapo villages including A’Ukre and the location of the Kayapo’s local conservation and development NGO, Associação Floresta Protegida (AFP).
The AFP coordinates logistics (hotel, air taxis, supplies, boats and Kayapo guides and translators) and support services (cook, field infrastructure) for visitors to A’Ukre/Pinkaiti. Air taxi service to A’Ukre is based in Ourilandia, a nearby satellite town.
Students will spend most of their time, eight days, based at the Pinkaiti biological reserve and field station located 15 km upriver from the village of A’Ukre. Course instructors are two PhD’s in Amazonian ecology (B. Zimmerman of CI and A. Jerozolimski of AFP) and UM anthropology professor J. Chernela. Each student will spend between two and four days in the village of A'Ukre learning about Kayapo culture and daily life in the company of an anthropologist. In addition to the professors, all activities at both sites take place with Kayapo guides, instructors and translators.
Eligibility
This program is open to both undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Maryland and other US universities.IMPORTANT: Admissions for the program are made on a rolling basis, and decisions will be given in a timely manner. However, please be aware that decisions will not be made on a daily basis, so you should expect a delay between when you submit an application and when you receive notification. Because admission to summer programs is competitive and space is limited, early application is advisable. Meeting the minimum GPA requirement alone is insufficient to guarantee admission. All required materials will be considered during the admission process. You may be asked to interview with the faculty member directing the program or with an Education Abroad advisor.