UW Students to Present Global Studies Fieldwork in Jackson

Three University of Wyoming Department of Global and Area Studies Program students will present results of their fieldwork at a free program Wednesday, May 28, at 6 p.m. in the Teton County Library, Auditorium B.

The students will discuss their independent research conducted abroad last summer as part of the “What in the World?” program. The program highlights the varied fieldwork that UW master’s degree students from the Department of Global and Area Studies Program completed for their M.A. thesis projects.

“These projects highlight the kind of exciting and innovative projects that international studies students at UW complete for their degrees,” says Jean Garrison, Global and Area Studies Program director. She says it is cutting-edge work that shapes their education.

Listed are the students, hometowns and their presentations:

-- Ievgen Avramenko, Kiev, Ukraine, will present “Origin of Military Conflicts in the Russian-Georgian War.” Avramenko was interested in talking to political decision-makers seeking to explain the factors that contribute to the origin of military conflicts. He explored the background reasons and incentives that all contributed to the 2008 Russian-Georgian War in Tbilisi, Georgia.

-- Hope Dewell Gentry of Casper, who has worked in Osaka, Japan, will discuss “Shinto’s Influence on Japanese Nationalism.” She says Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visits to the Yasukuni Shrine demonstrate that nationalism affects Japan’s foreign relations. Gentry explored the contemporary relationship between Shinto and Japanese nationalism.

-- Maame Hagan, from Accra, Ghana, will discuss “The Burgeoning Oil Industry in Ghana.” Her research took her to Cape Three Points, Ghana, where she conducted research on oil company activities. The study explores oil company activities from a bottom-up perspective by critically examining the position of the community’s new oil development.

For more information, contact Garrison at (307) 766-6119 or email garrison@uwyo.edu.