Family, the Consumer & Culture in Korea with Dr. Hyungsoo Kin, hkim3@uky.edu

FAM 455 (3 Credits) | Travel Dates: May 16 - 25

Particular topics are family relations, healthy food and school menus, fashion and consumption patterns, older adult care, traditional and contemporary culture from UNESCO World Heritage sites and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity to K-POP. Visiting sites and experiences provide students an important opportunity to compare and contrast family relations, food, clothing and culture, and to better understand family and consumer issues from the cultural and global perspective.

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Rum Production and History in St. Croix with Ilka Balk, ilka.balk@uky.edu and Seth DeBolt, seth.debolt@uky.edu

HRT 335 (3 Credits): Online Course June 14 - Aug. 6

Travel Dates: July 16 - July 21

Rum plays an important economic and cultural role in the Caribbean. The 5 day study abroad program in St. Croix will teach a foundational course for the Distillation Wine and Brewing Studies Certificate, HRT 335, but with an emphasis on Rum production and history of the spirit.  The program seeks to provide students with an understanding of the rum production process, blending, flavoring and marketing. We will take field trips to local rum producers, such as Cruzan and Cpt. Morgan, as well as local breweries. The course will also feature guest lectures from local academics and industry professionals. 

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Mountains to Coast: Field Studies in Costa Rica with Professor Rob Paratley, rparatl@uky.edu

NRE 320 (3 credits) | Travel Dates: July 21 - Aug. 4

This program studies Costa Rica’s high biological diversity and tropical ecology as well as important natural resource management issues affecting resource use, agriculture, and conservation. Costa Rica has emerged as a world leader in conservation, having established a network of national parks and bioreserves in response to a history of rapid deforestation. In-depth visits to a number of such reserves will allow students to explore many facets of tropical biology and related environmental issues – documenting biodiversity, rare species restoration, exploring ecological interactions among species, discussing the establishment history and continued operation of nature preserves. We will travel through a diverse mix of land uses, relating these to the country’s rugged topography, its varied soils and climate, and its land-use history. Other topics include sustainable family farm agriculture, large-scale export commodity agriculture, ecotourism, energy policy, and the impact of climate change on all of these. Emphasis throughout the program will be on experiential learning in the field, group discussion, lectures and guided hikes from local experts, a final presentation project, and journal-writing.

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