Humans of Guanacaste: an Interactive Showcase of Costa Rican Leaders Juan Camilo Barco
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)ORULGD6WDWH8QLYHUVLW\/LEUDULHV 2017 Humans of Guanacaste: An Interactive Showcase of Costa Rican Leaders Juan Camilo Barco Follow this and additional works at DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES HUMANS OF GUANACASTE: AN INTERACTIVE SHOWCASE OF COSTA RICAN LEADERS By JUAN C. BARCO A Thesis submitted to the Department of Political Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation with Honors in the Major Degree Awarded: Fall, 2017 “Even the most casual observer of American politics cannot help but notice that partisan conflict has grown sharper, more unrelenting, and more ideological over the last decade.” - C. Hare & K. T. Pole “The Polarization of Contemporary American Politics” Introduction enabling people to live and work together, especially with people from different cultural Over the past decade, there has been a backgrounds. An individual’s sensitivity to our significant increase in political divide across the cultural differences, combined with an ability to United States (Dunlap, 2016). Partisan polarization adapt one’s own behavior to those differences, is an has become a notion very prominent in today’s incredibly valuable asset to have in a society society, creating a political climate characterized by characterized by a diverse workforce and a tense debate, where casual conversations about globalized economy (Landis and Bhgatt, 1996). ideological differences have now turned into violent protests, such as the ones recently seen in One theory suggests that study-abroad Charlottesville, Virginia. As suggested by programs found at the university level can have a researcher Liliana Mason (2015), partisan positive impact on the overall development of polarization has also been strengthened by the intercultural sensitivity (Anderson, 2006). Being growing tendency of individual Americans to treat immersed in a different culture, being aware of party identification as a social identity, where being different perspectives, and being knowledgeable of a Republican or a Democrat is important in how the variety of social issues present around the world people see themselves. are key components of the cultural integration offered by study abroad programs. However, how This national in-group identification has also can we integrate this principle to individuals outside been characterized in predicting negative feelings or of the university sample and/or to those who don’t hostility towards immigrant groups, especially in have the necessary economical means to travel individuals who hold a high level of moral outside of the U.S.? Also, how do we integrate key superiority (Brewer, 1999). This notion has been cultural aspects of other nations to the average demonstrated in recent political candidacies both at individual/consumer? And how do we provide the the local, state, and federal level. However, this rest of America, and the world, the benefits that concept does not imply that all Americans are only privileged college students are able to receive narcissists. Nonetheless, it is perhaps noticeable that by studying abroad? This thesis seeks so answer Americans do hold a much more grandiose and these questions. nationalistic view towards their own country when compared to other western nations. (Baldwin, Through methods of creative storytelling, I 1956). However, when this notion becomes have created a documentary film where I portray the threatened, individuals with higher nationalistic and experiences, the lessons, the stories, and the cultural narcissistic views have been associated with higher issues that students, such as myself, have levels of aggression, hostile intent, and violence encountered studying abroad. This documentary towards others (Baumeister, 2003). This is focuses specifically in learning about the multiple incredibly noticeable in today’s political climate, social, environmental, and political problems where calls for immigration (a threat to nationalistic present in the region of Guanacaste, Costa Rica; ideals), have become more prominent and present in highlighting individuals’ lives, their stories, their both our political debate, and our proposed struggles, and their initiatives to fix them. I believe legislation. that through this mean, we can cultivate and increase our overall level or intercultural sensitivity, So how do we change our opinions towards thus reducing the effects that political polarization immigrant populations without letting go of our has brought upon our nation and the rest of the national identity and our long-lasting belief that the world. United States is and has been the greatest nation on earth? To put it simply, how can we, as a nation, Problems Studied cultivate a higher level of intercultural sensitivity? The answers to these questions are significantly Why Costa Rica? important to find, considering we are living in an era where intercultural sensitivity is critical in Costa Rica, located in Central America, has This project sought to discover local leaders usually been characterized by its high level of involved with such initiatives; disclosing their tourism. In fact, Costa Rica ranks 56th in the world involvement, their effectiveness, and most for tourist arrivals, receiving over 3 million tourist importantly, their intrinsic motives to serve. visits in the year of 2016 (ICR, 2016). Keep in Overall, this project provides a general mind, Costa Rica has a population of only 4.8 evaluation of the tertiary sector present in million (World bank, n.d). Although Costa Rica has Guanacaste. been marketed by its beautiful beaches and its biodiverse parkland, it is a nation that holds an immense amount of social, political, and Methods environmental issues which most visitors will never come in contact with. Being the most visited This project placed a focus on utilizing country in Central America (UNWTO, 2012), I individual storytelling as the main source of data. believe it is important to highlight the issues the During the span of six weeks, over 20 individuals people of this country are constantly dealing with, were formally interviewed via face-to-face video as well as the initiatives taken by non-profit and audio recordings. Participants were individuals organizations and average citizens aimed at fixing directly involved with the topics of interest. them. Participants were citizens of the neighborhood of Martina Bustos, government officials, founders and Topics Investigated directors of Non-Profit Organizations, and citizens of the region of Guanacaste. Interviews ranged from 1) The level of poverty and the living conditions 20 minutes to 60 minutes. Government officials and present in the neighborhood of Martina Bustos. the founders of Non-Profit Organizations were Located in the outskirts of the city of Liberia, recruited via email. Citizens of Martina Bustos were Martina Bustos has been known for its harsh selectively chosen by Gerardo Fuentes, City living conditions, its high level of immigrant Councilman for the City of Liberia, and founder of populations, and its lack of basic public the NGO Manos Abiertas. Gerardo has been resources such as potable water and electricity working in Martina Bustos for the past 15 years and for almost 3,000 of its residents. This project has extensive personal relationships with the highlights individual stories of the residents of citizens of Martina Bustos. I believe that the Martina Bustos, while outlining political issues recruitment of participants of such vulnerable at the municipal level which prevent this populations had to be done under the supervision of community from developing. someone well trusted by the community. This allowed me to conduct more friendly, more 2) The effects of Global Warming on the dry personal, and more in-depth conversations with the pacific regions of Guanacaste. More citizens of this neighborhood. specifically, how elongated drought seasons have exacerbated water shortages. This project Further on, I utilized the content of my focused on disclosing how unorganized and interviews as the main sources of data, which fragmented political institutions have provided a significant amount of information in exacerbated this problem, while highlighting the regards to the topics I studied. Only a selected importance of developing bottom-up number of these interviews were compiled into the educational initiatives aimed at cultivating a documentary film. However, following every higher level of environmental consciousness interview, participants took part in a 15-minute from early in the public education curriculum. photoshoot where portraits of them were taken. These portraits, along with every participants 3) Local grassroots initiatives implemented by translated and transcribed portions of their established Costa Rican and foreign Non-Profit interviews, will be compiled into an interactive Organizations which aim at bettering living photography book, which will be sold to the general conditions, such as in the ones presented above. public. All profits from this book will go directly to the non-profit organizations mentioned in the Bustos have worked at the landfill at some point in documentary. their lives. Results / Observations Our conversations with Gerardo Fuentes also revealed a significant flaw in the local political Martina Bustos structure of the city of Liberia, which ultimately limits their ability to develop the neighborhood of Martina Bustos is a 45-acre piece of