Tropical Ethnobotany

Instructor: Jillian De Gezelle Ph.D. Candidate CUNY & Institute of Economic Botany The New York Botanical Garden 200th St. and Kazimiroff Blvd. Bronx, NY 10458-5126 Phone: 917-443-5102 jillianmariegmail.com
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 rain forest 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:

1. Definition and History of Ethnobotany
2. Tropical Forest and Plant Ecology
3. Neotropical Plant Families
4. Cultures of Bocas del Toro and Panama
5. Ethnobotanical Research Project Development
6. Research Ethics and Intellectual Property
7. Ethnography and Ethnographic Methods
8. Gender, Bias, and Gendered Knowledge
9. Traditional Medical Systems
10. Culture-Bound Syndromes and Spiritual Diseases
11. Wild Foods, Medicinal Foods and Traditional Diets
12. Tropical Agriculture and Agroforestry
13. Psychoactive Plants of the Neotropics
14. Conservation and Use of Endangered Plants
15. Plant Collection, Pressing and Drying
16. Knowledge Elicitation Techniques
17. Quantitative Methods in Ethnobotany
18. Photo and Video Documentation
19. Returning Research Results and Community Projects

SAMPLE OF COURSE READINGS:

1. Bletter, N. 2006. Talking Books: A New Method of Returning Ethnobiological Research Documentation to the Non-Literate. Economic Botany 60(1):85-90.
   
2. 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.
   
3. 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.
   
4. Elvin-Lewis, M. 2006. Evolving Concepts Related to Achieving Benefit Sharing for Custodians of Traditional Knowledge. Ethnobotany Research & Applications 4:075-096.
   
5. Fuller, R.J.M. 2007. Guidelines for Using Video to Document Plant Practices. Ethnobotany Research & Applications 5:219-231.
   
6. 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.
   
7. 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.
   
8. 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.
   
9. 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.
   
10. 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.
    
11. Voeks, R.A. 2004. Disturbance Pharmacopoeias: Medicine and Myth from the Humid Tropics. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 94(4):868-888.
    
12. 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 to 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.