BIO 283 - Madagascar: Between Peril and Promise

This course is a three-week interdisciplinary study abroad cross-listed course combining perspectives and approaches from biology and political science. This course will offer students an integrated and immersive learning experience at four sites in Madagascar: the capital city of Antananarivo, a research station run by Stony Brook University on the edge of the rainforest of Ranomafana National Park, the seasonally dry forests of the Central-Southern Madagascar (Reserve d’Anja and the Parc National de l’Isalo), and Toliara and its surrounding forests and barrier reefs. Students will investigate how politics, culture, and the environment intersect and influence one another. They will participate in hands-on projects and interviews, visit multiple cultural and ecological sites, and attend interactive talks by local researchers and community members. Ultimately, students will have the opportunity to be immersed in the local language and culture, learn about the modern political and economic conditions that shape the lives of the island’s human and non-human inhabitants, and explore an island with some of the most unique biodiversity in the world.

Credits 4

Notes
Faculty-lead Short-term Study away program. Offered Summer 2023.

Compass Attributes
Natural Science, Sophomore Experience