January 24, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Thirty students and five faculty members from Western Kentucky University returned this
past Saturday from an 18-day Study Abroad program to the Yucatán region of Mexico.
The program focused on the Mayan communities of the Yucatán and Chiapas regions and addressed issues of poverty, inequality, infrastructure, unemployment, discrimination, land reform and economic activity.
Leading the program were Dr. Holli Drummond, Department of Sociology, and Debbie Kreitzer, Department of Geography and Geology. Accompanying the two faculty leaders were Dr. David Keeling, Geography and Geology Department Head, Adjunct Professor John Dizgun, and Bowling Green Community College adjunct instructor DJ Urquhart.
The program was designed to educate students about the Mayan world from the pre-Classic period to the present day. During the 18-day program, students visited some of the most spectacular Mayan city ruins, including Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Palenque, Yaxchitlan and Bonampak.
Local experts in Mérida, Palenque and San Cristobal de las Casas contributed to the educational rigor of the program with workshops and lectures on the natural environment, social justice and urban design. Students were enrolled either in “Social Problems of the Yucatán,” taught by Dr. Drummond, or “Geography of the Yucatán,” taught by Kreitzer.
Enrolled in the program were geoscience graduate student Crystal Bergman (Bowling Green), and undergraduate students from multiple disciplines: Sarah Arnold (sociology, Bowling Green); Nikki Atkinson (sociology, Russellville); Kori Beck (sociology, Bowling Green); Marci Caldwell (sociology, Bowling Green); Melissa Cary (geography, Bowling Green); Anthony Cummings (physical education, Louisville); Meloney Deweese (social work, Glasgow); Lyndsay Garrett (sociology, Clarkson); Philip Grogan (environmental science, Madison, Wis.); Kendra Hamilton (middle grades education, Bowling Green); Lisa Hamilton (non-degree, Nashville, Tenn.); Laura Heidel (corporate communication, Russellville); Sarah Hood (journalism, Fayette, Ala.); Rachel Kelly (biochemistry, Crestwood); Patrick Keown (geography, Owensboro); Carolyn Peters (elementary education, Bardstown); Lindsay Peters (broadcasting, Columbia, Tenn.); Rebecca Polivka (sociology, Bowling Green); Brandon Porter (geography, Bowling Green); Lauren Powell (sociology, Franklin); Michelle Riggs (biology, Elizabethtown); Daniel St. Cyr (geography, Louisville); Camille Tellis (political science, Bowling Green); Daniel Thornbury (recreation administration, Louisville); James Thornbury (industrial sciences, Louisville); Jessica Tinner (geography, Bowling Green); Megan Venzin (advertising, Frankfort); Chris Woods (marketing, Louisville); and Heather Younkin (history, Portland, Tenn.).
During the more-than-1,800 miles journey around the Yucatán and Chiapas, students and faculty experienced a variety of physical and cultural landscapes. Several lectures focused specifically on the social and political reasons for the 1994 Zapatista uprising in Chiapas and addressed the issues of land reform and migration in the region. Overall, students came away from the program with a much broader understanding of the region's society and geography and a deeper knowledge of the social, economic, and political challenges facing indigenous peoples in Mexico.
Photo caption: Western Kentucky University Study Abroad students in Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico, January 2008.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Holli Drummond at (270) 745-2259 or Debbie Kreitzer at (270) 745-5984.
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