An ecologia-humana-based historical inquiry as a creative force for nation building: Toward an appreciative model of conversational co-creation of a nation's future

This dissertation is about the role of language as a means and a tool: to grasp knowledge and understanding from history, to draw from it notions of possibilities, and to generate the formation of an image of a nation's future. The idea of conversational co-creation of a nation's future emerged from a historical inquiry through a human ecology perspective. This perspective explains population movement in relationship to a social role based on geography, current knowledge, available technology, and the human agency perceptions. (For instance, the geographical key function of bridging two bodies of water via the Panama Canal.) This perspective also provides reasons for population migration and crowding within a country, allowing the possibility of choice about future population distribution.;Using Panama as a case study and based on an understanding of its history, it is possible to comprehend that Panama is at an age of paradigm shift and it is possible to understand what it means to have the leadership defined by the 'law of the situation.' This leadership will be driven by the collective image, will be responded to through the collective behavior, will provide a reason to exist at a society level, and will serve as the motivation to make the decisions that need to be made. It is through a conversational process in a group, that learning what it means to be Panamanian takes place and the awareness of what the role of Panama is at a global level is awakened. Conversations, with this ecologically defined historical framework, generate the image and are the basis for action since society is communication. The co-creation of the image itself forms the national identity, produces a sense of belonging and provides a purpose that transcends---all of these with and through language. The combined ecological understanding coming out of the collective space process, equips leaders with the needed knowledge to develop new ideas and the motivation to carry out present actions that will transform into reality what started as a common vision. The case study includes an analysis of what is communicated through themes at a society level.