The School of Sustainability is partnering with the School of Human Evolution and Social Change (SHESC) to offer a study abroad experience in Australia.
For more information about ASU Study Abroad programs, click here
Summer 2010
Australia has a beautiful and arid landscape, and unique plants and animals that defied the comprehension of early European observers. But Australian Aborigines, representing the longest continuous cultural tradition in the world, adapted to the unique conditions across Australia over some 40-60,000 years, developing technologies, religion and lifeways completely tied to the land. Two hundred years of colonization and more recent processes of urbanization and globalization have brought massive environmental, social and political changes to the continent with critical implications for its future sustainability.
Developed as a collaboration between ASU's School of Human Evolution and Social Change and School of Sustainability, this transdisciplinary program draws on a very wide range of fields (such as anthropology, geography, archaeology, political science, ecology, biology, recreation management, sustainability, urban studies and agriculture) to explore human dimensions of sustainability-past, present and future. The program is suitable for undergraduate students at any level, as no specific background in any of these fields in assumed. Courses fulfill General Studies and Science and Society requirements, and prerequisites are usually waived. Graduate students also can be accommodated with graduate course credit
Summer 2010
Thailand is a medium income Southeast Asian country where global forces intersect with a deeply embedded local culture. Since the 1997 financial crisis, the economy has rapidly restructured, with greater emphasis on services such as tourism, health delivery to a global clientele, product design, property development (for local and global markets), and cuisine. This change is reflected in new landscapes and forms of urbanization, which students will interpret and assess. The Thai government and various interest groups, including the strong private sector, are struggling to identify policies and mechanisms to realize sustainable development within this rapidly changing context.
This program provides students with first-hand cross-cultural experience in directly addressing key sustainability and urban planning issues facing Thailand. ASU students will work in teams with ASU and Thai faculty, partnered with local students and key stakeholders from government, volunteer organizations, and the private sector. Issues addressed include mass rapid transit and sustainable development, sea level rise associated with global warming, deforestation, air and water pollution in low-income communities, urban heritage conservation, tsunami recovery, and sustainable tourism.
