Latin American Studies ETDs
Publication Date
Summer 7-12-2023
Abstract
This thesis presents two questions: How are relationships between people in Coto Brus and the land – specifically, forest – mediated by social, political, and economic forces? How are personal and collective identities expressed through relationship with the landscape? I chose Coto Brus because it is a forested region of Costa Rica which was populated with state support in the 1950s, and because it is my father’s hometown. In order to understand the subjective experiences of Costa Ricans involved in deforestation and reforestation, I performed interviews in the canton, visited conservation sites, and analyzed historical sources. This study combines multiscale historical narrative, analysis, and interpretation with ethnographic research methods to describe dynamic human-environment relationships in Costa Rica. By deconstructing events which produced Costa Rica’s current status as a model of conservation and reforestation, it provides a case study of historic socio-environmental change.
Project Sponsors
UNM GPSA, UNM CENTRO DE LA RAZA
Language
English
Keywords
Geography, Anthropology, Political Ontology, Historical Sociology, Critical Theory, Environmental History
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Latin American Studies
Level of Degree
Masters
Department Name
Latin American Studies
First Committee Member (Chair)
Dr. Miriam Gay-Antaki
Second Committee Member
Dr. Andreas Hernandez (Co-chair)
Third Committee Member
Dr. Judy Bieber
Recommended Citation
Arias-Benavides, Pablo Alonso. "The Bearing Earth: Colonization, Conservation, and Political Ecology in Costa Rica (Coto Brus 1948 - Present)." (2023). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ltam_etds/65
Included in
Human Geography Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
