Courses
Note: Second-year level college coursework in Spanish, taken in the year prior to the start of the program, is recommended. ACM will review applications on a case-by-case basis and may recommend that a student arrange to refresh or augment his/her level of Spanish prior to the start of the program.
Introduction to Costa Rica
Instructor: Christopher Vaughan
Required course, 4 semester credits
Click here to see a course syllabus
Using case studies, this course will offer a thematic approach to Costa Rica today. Taught in the beginning in English and Spanish and then entirely in Spanish, teaching methodology will include: a) discussions based on readings, b) guest lecturers, and c) field trips relating to the case studies. Short analysis essays and case studies write-ups will be the basis for evaluation. Case studies will be specific aspects of current social and environmental issues in Costa Rica, including water, health care, democracy, and ecotourism/biodiversity conversation. The course will meet for two hours twice a week throughout the semester except during the three-week rural stay.
Spanish Grammar, Conversation, and Culture
Instructor: varies
Required course, 4 semester credits
Click here to see a course syllabus
Instruction at the ACM center is provided by experienced Costa Rican teachers. Instructors rotate among small classes to expose students to several native speakers. Classes meet 17 ½ hours/week during the first five weeks of the semester and focus on comprehension and conversation, Costa Rican idioms, and grammar review. Grade reports will also indicate the level at which a student has studied so that credit can be assigned for the appropriate level of work.
Service Learning Project
Instructor: Ivelina Romagosa Jiménez
Required course, 3 semester credits
In the second half of the program, students will undertake a three-week service learning project typically in a rural area, spending three weeks working with a community organization. As preparation for the service learning project, students will work with the project supervisor to identify a project consistent with their goals and write up a proposal for their service experience. Student journals and interviews provide the basis for an ethnography and oral report for the project.
Students choose one of two elective courses:
Music, Society, and Identity
Instructor: Manuel Monestel
Elective course, 4 semester credits
Click here to see a course syllabus
This course will explore the historical development of different musical processes, and the influence of different migration, political and social factors on the origins of the musical styles of the Americas. It will also use those styles as a window to broader issues, such as social movements and identity formation in the Americas. Taught in English and Spanish at the beginning of the semester and then entirely in Spanish, the course will explore concepts such as standardization, cultural exchange, cultural industry and cultural identities in relation to different contextual frameworks for the development of music in the Americas. In this course students will have the opportunity to deepen their musical and cultural literacy and to appreciate some of the greatest contributions of Latin Americans to world culture. Additionally, given that ACM students frequently cultivate some musical talent, the seminar will be open to ways in which students might participate in music-making during the semester. The course will meet for two hours, twice a week throughout the semester (except during the three-week rural stay).
Central American Neotropical Biodiversity and Conservation
Instructor: Paul Hanson
Elective course, 4 semester credits
Click here to see a course syllabus
This course will examine environmental issues and solutions within the socio-economic-political framework of each Central America country, with special emphasis on Costa Rica, where conservation efforts have received international acclaim. Themes developed include: a) evaluating natural resource status and understanding the reasons behind their decline, b) improving land capability and land use information, c) ecosystem restoration, d) environmental education and outreach programs, and e) promoting “sustainable development”. The subject matter of this course is inherently multidisciplinary with interconnected webs of causality. In this course, students will focus analysis in understanding roots of problems before concentrating on the most viable solutions. Course evaluation will consist of: participation in class discussions, written book reviews and a literature review research project (oral presentation and final paper). Taught in English and Spanish at the beginning of the semester and then in Spanish, the course meets for two hours twice each week and continues throughout the semester (except during the rural stay).
Students choose one of three language elective courses during the second half of the semester:
Literature of Latin America
Elective course, 3 semester credits
This course introduces students to the contemporary literature of the region. Class work includes analysis of poetry, fiction and drama. Readings are all in Spanish. Costa Rican authors meet with the class to discuss their work.
Advanced Composition in Spanish
Elective course, 3 semester credits
This course focuses on improving students’ writing skills through emphasizing good exposition, grammar review and the development of an effective style.
Advanced Conversation in Spanish
Elective course, 3 semester credits
The emphasis of this course is on attaining greater fluency through work on pronunciation, vocabulary development and conversational skills.