Overview:

This is an 18 day interdisciplinary study abroad cross-listed course combining perspectives and approaches from two disciplines: Biology and Anthropology. The course will offer students an integrated and immersive learning experience set at multiple sites in Ecuador, including the University of San Francisco in Quito (USFQ) in the Andes mountains, the Mindo cloud forest, the town of Coca at the edge of the Amazon, and deep in the Amazonian rainforest at Tiputini Biodiversity Research Station. 

Students will also be introduced to the historical approaches to scientific biodiversity research in the Amazon and Andes. Students will engage in participant observation of current scientific research as they undertake hands-on projects and interviews, visit multiple cultural and ecological sites, attend interactive talks by local community members, and have a chance to work with USFQ faculty members. Ultimately, students will understand how scientists have and continue to explore the rich ecosystems and biodiversity of the Andean mountains and Amazon forest.