Written by
Nicolle McMurray

The legacy of Quitobaquito Springs, a tiny place with a long history

On the border between Mexico and Arizona is the postage stamp-sized oasis of Quitobaquito. But while the pond itself is tiny, what it holds is immense.

Climate Impact on People, Place, and Policy

Growing up in Guatemala, Diego Pons, climatologist and assistant professor of geography, couldn’t help but recognize that climate had a remarkable impact on local environments, farms and people. Pons wants to make large-scale climate science work for local farms and communities facing tough decisions. 

Planting a Vision

Emeritus professor and former VP Lou Swanson receives the Yellow Mountain Foreign Advisor Award – a high recognition for work done in China. The award recognizes Swanson’s and other sociology professors’ work to improve food systems and rural development in China, an effort decades in the making. 

Shifting Boundaries in the Frontier Zones of South China and Southeast Asia

How do borders get defined, and who defines them?   As recently as the 1960s, China’s Yunnan province has been a transnational crossroads; in one case in Ruili County a village was sliced right in half with one part in China and the other in Myanmar. Eli Alberts explores a unified nation composed of 55 ethnic minorities, specifically the Yao people and how they have been identified and grouped since the 12th century. 

Bridging Two Worlds

Inspired by author Gloria Anzaldua’s  advocacy of coalitions and the nurturing of allyship, because “we need to know the history of [others’] struggle and they need to know ours,” philosophy student Maeve interviews philosophy student Weston about Native American life, different ways of knowing, and the interconnections that bind us together. 

Latin American women writers’ voices crossed borders, platforms

María Inés Canto Carrillo,  Assistant Professor of Spanish, has focused on how the pandemic has encouraged Latin American female writers to use social media to amplify their voices, bringing forth taboo topics, feminist concerns, and their stories to the forefront.

Crossing National Borders to Bolster Democratic Engagement through Film and Media

Professors Hye Seung Chung and Scott Diffrient are spending time in South Korea exploring film and its use in government, human rights, and policy as Fulbright Scholars. Their goal is to bolster understanding of and appreciation for democratic principles such as free speech and human rights by critically engaging historical and contemporary Korean films.