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The faculty of the Department of Geography are extremely active in international research and study abroad opportunities.
International Research
International research in the Department of Geography stretches across the spectrum of the discipline. Faculty encourage undergraduate and graduate students to become engaged in international research. The following are some of the current international research projects:
Andean South America - Professor Andy Reese is conducting palynological studies from ice cores atop several Andean glaciers and ice caps. His research is focused upon global climate change and environmental responses.
Costa Rica - Professor Skeeter Dixon is working with the Organization for Tropical Studies to examine the environmental impacts and land use changes associated with agricultural colonization along the Panama border of southern Costa Rica.
Honduras - Several faculty have active research pursuits in Honduras. In eastern Honduras, Professor David Cochran is looking into resource management among Tawakan and Miskito Indians in La Mosquitia. Dr. Joby Bass is studying fifty years of land use change among the Lenca in the mountains of southwestern Honduras and is also researching the coffee landscapes in that region. Dr. Skeeter Dixon is also studying the impact of lethal yellowing among coconut palms along the Caribbean coast of northern Honduras.
Cuba - Professor Mark Miller is a leading authority among geographers on the landscapes and peoples of this the largest of the Caribbean Islands. His work includes tourism, economic development, and urban development within Havana.
Jamaica - Dr. Tim Hudson, when not being the Provost at USM, has long had an active research agenda in Jamaica. He founded the Jamaican Studies Program and continues to examine the political ecology of the peoples, as well as various development issues within Jamaica.
Study Abroad
Geographers place high value upon international travel, study abroad, and foreign fieldwork. Each year geography faculty organize and lead field studies programs to a variety of overseas destinations. These courses are open to undergraduate and graduate students; and they can be taken as transfer credits. All courses are open to non-geography majors.
British Studies - A five week course covering 2000 miles across the British Isles. Students spend time in London, Wales, rural England, and Scotland. This is one of the more popular course offerings among USM's internationally recognized British Studies Progarm. Students descend a coal mine, hike the glacial valleys of northern Scotland, explore central London, study the physical and human geography of the British landscapes.
Pontlevoy, France - For the past several years, USM students have had the opportunity to study among the vineyards and chateauxs in the Loire Valley of France. A 1000 year old Abbey in Pontlevoy is home to the program. Geography students use the hills, rivers, ruins and monument dotted landscape for field studies and data research in the methodologies of geographical analysis. This is a three week course.
Honduras - A seventeen day expedition to research the landscapes and peoples of the north coast of Honduras. For much of the time the group is based on the Caribbean littoral, with it numerous fishing villages, traditional lifestyles, tropical beaches, and coconut plantations. The course also includes a visit to the Mayan ruins at Copan, marine studies of the coral reef system of the Bay Islands, and visiting colonial towns in the western highlands.
Jamaica - A three week course designed to examine the economic and tourist development of Jamaica and the Caribbean. Students are based at Ochos Rios, yet have the opportunity to travel to Montego Bay, Kingston, Negril, the Cockpit Country, and numerous rural villages.
Cuba - A three week course to the jewel of the Caribbean. Although Cuba is difficult for most people to visit and impossible for most Americans, the Department of Geography has long had a geography program situated in Havana. The course works closely with faculty from the University of Havana and is focused upon both the urban landscapes and rural peoples. Students have an opportunity to explore the island's colonial history, plantation legacy, and modern changes.
Australia - A three week course that begins in New Zealand and continues to the coastal plain of eastern Australia and on to the scenic beauty and exotic landscapes of the Outback. The class travels by van and conducts exciting fieldwork on the geography of peoples, places, and landforms. The island's biogeography, physical processes, and climatic vagaries are all part of the curriculum.
For more information on international opportunities in geography at The University of Southern Mississippi, please contact the chair of the Geography Department at:
Department of Geography
Box 5051
The University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, MS 39402
(601) 266-4729
c.dixon@usm.edu
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