From October 2022 to February 2023, 31 students from Osnabrück University participated in the seminar “Humans – Environment – Culture: Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Costa Rica”. Led by Prof. Dr. Claudia Pahl-Wostl, Dr. Almut Schilling-Vacaflor, and Prof. Dr. Susanne Schlünder the seminar was directed at students from the fields of Environmental System Sciences, European Studies, Geography, and Romance Studies and linked approaches from environmental sciences and cultural studies to achieve a more holistic view of ecosystemic and social conflicts and problems in the region. Working in interdisciplinary teams, the students held presentations and discussed a variety of topics ranging from biodiversity and conservation, ecotourism, environmental conflicts and local communities, agricultural production (coffee, banana, pineapple) and nation-building to multiethnicity, indigenous cultures, and (constitutional) law. On December 13, 2022, they also listened to a lecture by Daniel Avendaño Leadem (Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica) on “Environmental Conservation and Tourism in Costa Rica.” The seminar successfully piloted collaborative learning and research and will result in the publication of articles by both students and faculty.
