Foreign languages are in a period of transition regarding requirements for graduation here at the University of Kentucky. French professor Sadia Zoubir-Shaw and French graduate student Amelia Stevens discuss the continuing importance of world languages in a regular curriculum, as well as the career possibilities that a second language opens up. Various actors and international artists that speak French to some degree are featured in…

Scholars and students from around the globe have congregated in Lexington for the last two years to discuss nature, the environment, social issues, economics, and more at the Dimensions of Political Ecology Conference. The next conference will take place at the University of Kentucky during the end of February 2013. In this podcast, Nate Millington, Jessa Loomis and Patrick Bigger…

The Nature Experiment explores the connection between humans, the natural world, and our reliance upon technology. The idea for this experiment was sparked by our reading of the Richard Louv book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. The book explores society's disconnection from the natural world and the things children and families collectively lose as a result. The experiment gave students a creative outlet for connecting their lived experiences to the…

Most of us heard that the world was going to possibly end on December 21st, 2012, and that it was predicted by the traditional Mayan calendar. In this podcast, Rusty Barrett, a linguist and scholar of Mayan culture and history, explains the superstitions and misunderstandings surrounding December 21st, and a little bit about how the Mayan calendar works.

SPOILER ALERT: The day after our interview, Barrett recieved an email from a Mayan organization (…

The words “hip” and “hipster” carry around a lot of baggage. Often, due to misconceptions, "hipster" is used as an insult meant to suggest some sort of failed or inauthentic attempt at being "hip." But what if that isn’t what “hip” is? What if “hip” isn’t some obsession with the fleeting but a more permanent state?

Gwendolyn Schaefer knew she wanted to study abroad in the Middle East, but the Arab Spring presented a potential threat to her personal security. Her first two choices were Egypt and Syria, but both were deep in the throes of political unrest. Eventually, she landed in Amman, Jordan through Education Abroad at UK with AMIDEAST. There, she was paired with an internship at Jordan’s…

More than thirty of the world's leading morphologists are contributing to a book that will be out in spring of 2014 - and they're working together with the help of an online collaboration tool developed by the Hive. Professors Andrew Hippisley and Greg Stump are currently compiling and editing the upcoming Cambridge Handbook of Morphology. In this podcast, Hippisley and Stump describe the book, and how and why they are putting it…

The Department of Physics & Astronomy is excited to welcome professor Dale Kocevski to its faculty!

The educational rabbit-hole of entering the medical world can be a time consuming one. Often students feels that they don’t have time to squeeze in an elective of their choice — much less a semester abroad. Jennifer Hamilton however, was able to study abroad twice while earning her undergraduate degree in biology. Hamilton attributes this achievement to her College of Arts and Sciences advisor who guided her through the study abroad process, helped with scholarships, while also keeping her on track academically.



After applying and being accepted to numerous public…

We hear a lot about "energy independence" and "renewable energy," but what do those terms actually mean? A class is being offered to answer these questions and introduce students to concepts and debates around energy: where it comes from, how we use it, and what the future of energy looks like.  

UKC120, “Physics of Energy,” will examine coal, oil, nuclear power, hydroelectricity, wind, and solar power. Professor Joseph Straley will teach the course, and in this…