REU Site: Globalization and Sustainable Development in Latin America

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo MI

Investigators

Abstract

This award provides funds for an REU Site focusing on social and environmental issues association with globalization in Latin America. This intensive eight-week summer program will be based in Merida, Mexico and housed at the Universidad Auntonoma de Yucatan. The intellectual focus of the project is economic geography, and the primary objective is to provide a diverse group of undergraduate students from a variety of academic disciplines with the opportunity to work collaboratively on inter-disciplinary research in an international setting. Based on their backgrounds and academic interests, students will carry out research on social and environmental topics under the close supervision of WMU and local faculty. Specifically, undergraduates will learn how to design, conduct, and report applied field-based research. Furthermore, in carrying out their research, students will gain first-hand appreciation of the social and environmental problems associated with globalization in Latin America. REU students will be challenged to understand how local outcomes are related to global processes and, in doing so, will be encouraged to use a variety of viewpoints and methods to carry out their research. This award contributes to the Foundation's continuing efforts to attract talented students into careers in science through active undergraduate research experiences.