UW Students to Present Global Studies Fieldwork in Sheridan and Casper

Three University of Wyoming Department of Global and Area Studies Program students will present results of their fieldwork Thursday, May 15, at the Sheridan Fulmer Public Library and Friday, May 16, in Room 322 of the Casper College Union University Building. Both presentations, free and open to the public, begin at 5:30 p.m.

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 degree,” 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.

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

-- Alyssa Kaelin, Cheyenne, completed her fieldwork in Rasuwa District, Nepal, and will speak about the “Commercialization of Homestays in the Himalayan Region.” Kaelin examined the internal tensions and socio-economic hierarchies in a commercialized homestay village in Nepal. Her fieldwork in the village of Briddim allowed her to gain practical experience useful for a future career in the Himalayan region.

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