Humanismo para el cambio: el caso de la Sede de Occidente, Universidad de Costa Rica.

Abstract

The current paradigm of individual success, driven by ambition and greed, generates the overexploitation of people and natural resources among the population mass. In this situation, humanism is the approach that will produce social transformation, and therefore, the implementation of educational processes that foster a more humane, comprehensive, and inclusive culture is required. In Costa Rica’s western region, the University of Costa Rica, located in the San Ramon central county, provides mediation between culture and humanistic knowledge, with the participation, every six months, of approximately one thousand six hundred students from communities far removed from the capital city. Humanities and General Studies courses must be developed with stimulating and innovative teaching strategies with the goal of generating a cultural and educational revolution that promotes critical thinking and fosters virtues and values to counteract negative self-destructive attitudes, rooted in the globalized culture. In order to account for such a reality, the Humanities and General Studies courses offered at the Western Campus of the University of Costa Rica will be approached as a case study to build academic efforts that will impact both political and community spheres.