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Date Permissions Signed

5-15-2008

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Environmental Studies

First Advisor

Rossiter, David A.

Second Advisor

Abel, Troy D.

Third Advisor

Hammond, Joyce D., 1950-

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the social construction of nature and society through ecotourism on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. It demonstrates that ecotourism is based on an idealized conception of nature external to and separate from society, allowing uneven power relationships to go unexamined and causing themes of social justice and equity to go unaddressed in the development and implementation of it. In my research I show how society and nature are linked in a mutually re-constructive relationship in order to redirect attention onto the way in which powerful agents control the idea of nature in Costa Rica and privilege those who accept the idealized external form, ultimately resulting in uneven development. This is achieved, first, by showing how society constructs nature through discursive representation and, second, by exploring how those new natures reconfigure social relationships and re-order social structures. Methodologically, I take an interpretive approach to participant observation and employ a discourse and image analysis of travel media. Specifically, I analyze Costa Rican travel brochures, advertisements, guidebooks, and electronic sources and contrast two Osa tourism ventures, utilizing information collected from informal interviews and student course journals. I argue that nature on the Osa Peninsula is increasingly being re-made as an object external to society, that society is being reconfigured as a result, that the entire process is controlled by an elite minority, and that the outcome is inequity based on a willingness and ability to accept the dominant new ideas about nature in Costa Rica.

Type

Text

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25710/sh59-fj73

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

244449714

Subject – LCSH

Ecotourism--Costa Rica--Osa Peninsula; Nature--Social aspects--Costa Rica--Osa Peninsula

Geographic Coverage

Osa Peninsula (Costa Rica)

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.

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