Restorative Justice and the Community - Study Abroad Spring Break

Course Title: SPHL410: Social and Restorative Justice in the Community: Histories of Healing in Costa Rica

Dates: March 13, 2026-March 22, 2026

Deadline to Apply: September 30th.

Faculty:  Dr. Shannell Thomas, Dept Chair of Criminal Justice at Bowie State University and Dr. Amy Morgan, Family Health, University of Maryland School of Public Health. 

Find out more and apply here as a UMD student.

Want to hear more? Join an info session? Not sure and want advice? Email Beth at bdc1@umd.edu. 

About the Program

This short-term immersive study abroad course in Costa Rica invites students from the University of Maryland and Bowie State University to collaboratively explore the intersections of social justice, family and community health, restorative justice, and identity from the larger Costa Rican perspective and through the Afro-Costa Rican experience. Set predominantly in the culturally rich Limón province of Costa Rica and its surrounding regions, the course explores Afro-Costa Rican histories, voices, and strategies of resistance in the ongoing struggles for equity, justice, sovereignty, dignity, and the right to health and well-being.

 

Costa Rica, a country renowned for its upholding of civil liberties, press freedom, and gender equality, is an ideal location for community-engaged learning on histories of harm and healing. Students will engage with Costa Rican, Indigenous, and Afro-Costa Rican leaders, activists, educators, and justice practitioners to critically examine how communities sustain resilience and collective care in the face of colonization, anti-Black racism, and systemic marginalization. This course emphasizes restorative justice not only as a global and community-rooted practice for addressing harm, but also as a pathway for healing intergenerational trauma, strengthening families, and envisioning healthier futures. 

This course is a collaboration between Bowie State University and the University of Maryland, and is part of our process of truth and reconciliation. It is held in honor and remembrance of Lt. Richard Collins, a graduating BSU senior and commissioned officer in the US Army, who was murdered by a UMD student in 2017 on the UMD campus.