Community-Engaged Design in Costa Rica

NOTE: Scroll Down for Course and Sequence Descriptions

 

Location

Costa Rica

Dates

Program: March 3, 2019 to March 9, 2019
Application Due: January 15, 2019

Minimum Credits

Contact

 

About the Program

How is it that Costa Rica is seen as one of the most sustainable countries in the world? What can we learn about Costa Rica’s commitment to sustainability by collaborating together with indigenous and campesinocommunities on sustainable design projects?

In this program, you will participate in weekly study at MSU of the latest theories of sustainability and the culture of Costa Rica’s sustainable and democratic practice. You will connect that understanding to your future as citizens, engineers and/or artists and scholars in the humanities. During MSU’s spring break, you will travel to select indigenous (Bribri, Kekoldi, and/or Cabecar) communities to live with and learn first-hand from people challenged by sustainable development—and engage in and celebrate the completion of special community-based design projects. You will return to MSU to reflect on your engagement and accomplishments using group dialogue and creative work. 

By the end of the semester, you will have:

• Engaged in and celebrated a significant community participatory design project
• Improved your cultural competence as citizens and as future designers, engineers or scholars in the humanities through cultural and linguistic immersion
• Gained ample experience in oral peer presentation
• Improved your knowledge and skills using creative, peer-based and other forms of self-reflection.

Sponsors

College of Engineering
Residential College in the Arts and Humanities

More Details

Visit the International Studies and Programs Office for Education Abroad program page: https://osa.isp.msu.edu/Programs/program/index/108145

 

Course Information

Sequence Description

Starting in fall 2018, RCAH began collaborating with the first-year engineering CoRE experience on interdisciplinary, community-based design projects with community partners in Costa Rica. We started with the Girls for Success Program (a temporary playground and a new educational center site plan) near the Kekoldi Territory in Hone Creek and Los Vecinos de Shiroles, Bribri Autonomous Territory (a new public park). The next project: A new center for community resilience at LIFE Monteverde in Canitas. Ideally, the program follows a sequence according to the following:

Semester 1: RCAH and Engineering students take courses within their home institutions but collaborate together with community partners remotely to solve design challenges.

Semester 2: RCAH and Engineering students study together learn more about transcultural engagement and design – including working across disciplines, cultures and global ideas. The course will use Costa Rica as a case on concepts critical to artists, humanitarians, designers and engineers, including peace and conflict, sustainability and development and place and imagination.

This course of study is capped with travel to visit community partners in Costa Rica to implement and/or celebrate the designs begun the previous semester and to reflect on their learning, engagement and implications for future work. What follows is how the structured sequence (fall/spring or spring/fall) we have developed works (including course descriptions and enrollment information). 

Fall 2019 Courses

RCAH 326: Topics in Community Engagement (3 credits). RCAH Students Only

Vincent Delgado (Ins.); Time: Tues/Thurs. 8:30-9:50am; Location to be arranged; Capped at zero; Note: Course locations as arranged include: online via MSU zoom, G74 Wilson Hall, and Snyder C210; Students are recommended, though not required, to attend select EGR 100 lectures (Tu 3-3:50 pm or Tu 8-8:50 am or Wed. 8-8:50 am; C102 Wilson Hall).

Design for the Common Good: Communities around the world are challenged by conflicts related to equity, justice, power, privilege and the common good – and by concerns about environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability. In this course, students will use remote technology and community-based design practices to engage these challenges in collaboration with MSU engineering students and community partners in Costa Rica. Specifically, they will engage with a Bribri Indigenous community to design new spiritual and community gathering places that reflect the tribe’s cosmovision. The design of these structures, known as usuresor orowes, will require students to consider elements critical to engaged arts and humanities, including: audience, context, insight, conflicts, demographics, and history. In engineering, such practice is known as peace engineering. This is the first course in a two-semester sequence, in which students, as part of an engaged education abroad experience, will ultimately visit with the host community to implement and/or celebrate their designs. The second part of the sequence, however, is not required.

 

EGR 100: Introduction to Engineering Design (2 credits). EGR/Lyman Briggs Students Only.

Engineering students will take this course and then about 1/3 through will select special sections that involve engaged design with indigenous community on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast as described above.

Jenahvive Morgan (ins.); Tu 3-3:50 pm; C102 Wilson Hall.

Engineering design process as modeled by team-based, interdisciplinary design projects. Roles of engineers and the contributions of engineering in society. Project management, and design of products and processes to specified outcomes under specified constraints. Introduction to computing tools and physical equipment in support of engineering design. Engineering ethics. Oral and written technical communications.

 

RCAH 203: Transcultural Relations through the Ages (4 credits). RCAH and EGR Students.

Vincent Delgado/Timothy J. Hinds (Ins.); Wed. 8:30-9:50am; Location to be arranged; Capped at zero; Note: Course locations as arranged include: online via MSU zoom, G74 Wilson Hall, and Snyder C210.

Design for Peace: Working, collaborating and translating across diverse disciplines, cultures, languages and global ideas is beginning to become increasingly critical to solving some of the globes most challenging problems. In this course, RCAH and Engineering students will engage in the critical study of interdisciplinary, transcultural, multi-lingual and global engagement, design and peace engineering. In this way, Costa Rica will serve as a test case for our understanding of concepts critical to artists, humanitarians, designers, engineers and citizens. These include peace and conflict, sustainability and development and place and imagination. An embedded education abroad experience, this course of study is capped with travel to visit community partners at LIFE Monteverde in Costa Rica to implement and/or celebrate the design work from the previous semester and to reflect on their learning, engagement and implications for future work. This is the second course in a two-semester sequence. Participation in the first course is preferred but not mandatory. Prior approval by the instructor is required.

 

Spring 2020 Courses

RCAH 326: Topics in Community Engagement (3 credits). RCAH Students Only

Vincent Delgado (Ins.); Time: Tues/Thurs. 8:30-9:50am; Location to be arranged; Capped at zero; Note: Course locations as arranged include: online via MSU zoom, G74 Wilson Hall, and Snyder C210; Students are recommended, though not required, to attend select EGR 100 lectures (Thurs. 3-3:50 pm or Fri. 10:20-11:30 am or Fri. 11:30-12:20 am; C102 Wilson Hall).

Design for the Common Good: Communities around the world are challenged by conflicts related to equity, justice, power, privilege and the common good – and by concerns about environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability. In this course, students will use remote technology and community-based design practices to engage these challenges in collaboration with MSU engineering students and community partners in Costa Rica. Specifically, they will engage with a campesinoor indigenous community in Costa Rica to respond to a community design challenge. The design requires students to consider elements critical to engaged arts and humanities, including: audience, context, insight, conflicts, demographics, and history. In engineering, such practice is known as peace engineering. This is the first course in a two-semester sequence, in which students, as part of an engaged education abroad experience, will ultimately visit with the host community to implement and/or celebrate their designs. The second part of the sequence, however, is not required.

 

EGR100: Introduction to Engineering Design (2 credits). EGR/Lyman Briggs Students Only.

Engineering students will take this course and then about 1/3 through will select special sections that involve engaged design with campesino or indigenous communities in Costa Rica as described above.

Jenahvive Morgan (ins.); F 10:20-11:10 am; C102 Wilson Hall.

Engineering design process as modeled by team-based, interdisciplinary design projects. Roles of engineers and the contributions of engineering in society. Project management, and design of products and processes to specified outcomes under specified constraints. Introduction to computing tools and physical equipment in support of engineering design. Engineering ethics. Oral and written technical communications.

 

RCAH 203: Transcultural Relations through the Ages (4 credits). RCAH and EGR Students.

Vincent Delgado/Timothy J. Hinds (Ins.); Wed. 8:30-9:50am; Location to be arranged; Capped at zero; Note: Course locations as arranged include: online via MSU zoom, G74 Wilson Hall, and Snyder C210.

Design for Peace: Working, collaborating and translating across diverse disciplines, cultures, languages and global ideas is beginning to become increasingly critical to solving some of the globes most challenging problems. In this course, RCAH and Engineering students will engage in the critical study of interdisciplinary, transcultural, multi-lingual and global engagement, design and peace engineering. In this way, Costa Rica will serve as a test case for our understanding of concepts critical to artists, humanitarians, designers, engineers and citizens. These include peace and conflict, sustainability and development and place and imagination. An embedded education abroad experience, this course of study is capped with travel to visit community partners in a Bribri Indigenous community in Costa Rica to implement and/or celebrate the design work from the previous semester and to reflect on their learning, engagement and implications for future work. This is the second course in a two-semester sequence. Participation in the first course is preferred but not mandatory. Prior approval by the instructor is required.