Tag: wales

A National Classroom: MTU faculty lean into their expertise for 2025 Study Abroad to Wales

Dr. Mark Rhodes and Dr. Kathryn Hannum recently wrapped up their second Wales: Community Transformations study abroad program in the small nation on England’s western border. Given their expertise and the specific courses they teach on Industrial Communities and National Communities, respectively, this year they decided to organize two distinct research projects for the two distinct courses. 

Dr. Rhodes led the 8 Industrial Communities students through the techniques of archival research in an effort to unearth the impacts and legacies of the founding figure in Welsh Industrial Heritage and Archaeology: D. Morgan Rees. Following time in two Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales libraries and archives, conversations with current Department of Industry staff, and deep dives into online primary and secondary data, they have assembled what will be only the second attempt at encapsulating the life and impact of Rees (the first briefly written in 1979 after his death). They will submit the paper for peer-review next month.

Students conducting archival research in the National Museum Cardiff Library.

Dr. Hannum led the 15 National Communities students in a different direction. Following the establishment of the Welsh Assembly (now Parliament) in 1999, Amgueddfa Cymru published an exhibition, TV series, and book titled Painting the Dragon to reflect on the past and future of Wales through visual art. With a quarter century now behind us, students took the opportunity to reassess how the nation of Wales in 2025 reflects itself through art. Students used the art exhibited at National Museums, Libraries, and Galleries across Wales as data to compare and contrast prominent themes present now versus the year 2000. They will compile and submit their paper for peer-review later this semester.

Preeminent art historian Peter Lord speaking to students during our visit to the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.

Both Rhodes and Hannum also teach a third course on Cultural Immersion, which all 18 students enrolled in at either the undergraduate or graduate level. One highlight of this year’s course was the incorporation of the Welsh National Eisteddfod, which, while difficult to describe, is a nation-wide festival centered around poetry and the arts. This year, for the North American Pavilion, MTU History majors under the mentorship of Drs. Sarah Fayen Scarlett, Steven Walton, and Mark Rhodes, created a series of four panels about Welsh-American history surrounding the Revolutionary period. These displays, alongside five other North American Welsh organizations, allowed students to engage with hundreds of visitors throughout the week as they took shifts working the pavilion. Caption: Some MTU students, faculty, and other Welsh-North American leadership pose in front of the Cymru Gogledd America Pavilion at the National Eisteddfod.

Wales is relatively small in both population and size, linguistically and ethnically diverse, and politically and socially outspoken, offering a distinct experience within the United Kingdom. Prior to departure, students often think they are (erroneously) visiting England, which has been popularized within the imagination of most Americans. To their surprise, students find themselves in an entirely different world in the country of Wales: a national classroom.

Policy and Community Development major, Grace Murray, poses with her winning MTU Social Sciences sticker design in front of the North American Pavilion at the National Eisteddfod.

Students to Scholars: Wales 2024 Study Abroad Program Publishes Peer-Reviewed Research

The group prepares to descend into a coal mine at the Big Pit: National Coal Museum

In May, 14 MTU students from Industrial Heritage and Archaeology and other programs, a visiting Wayne State student, and two community members joined Drs. Mark Rhodes and Kathryn Hannum on MTU’s first “Wales: Community Transformations” Study Abroad program. The 16-day program explores how parks, museums, and historic sites can heal economic and environmental scars left behind by industrialization.

In the weeks leading up to the trip, the Welsh Government announced massive budget cuts to the national museum system, which Dr. Rhodes researches. This presented a unique opportunity. Because the program visits all seven national museums in Wales, the group could track their economic spending.

Students gather around a guide at the base of one of the Blaenavon Ironworks’ six blast furnaces during a guided tour.

Students recorded everything they spent inside and outside of each museum and analyzed that data. They found that while the museums are free to enter, the amount spent within each exceeded the average that visitors are willing to pay for museum entry in the UK. By drawing people in, centering a community, and communicating cultural and community values through the museum’s interpretations, they argue that free museums generate these regional economic and social values while remaining accessible to all.

The findings of this research have been published in the peer-reviewed journal, Welsh Economic Review, published by Cardiff University Press.

In Media: Mark Rhodes on the Role of Coal in Industrial Heritage and National Identity in Wales

Mark Rhodes
Mark Rhodes

Mark Rhodes, assistant professor of geography was a guest on the Tourism Geographies Podcast last Friday (Nov. 24). The episode centered on a recently published paper co-authored by Rhodes which traces the role of coal in industrial heritage and national identity in Wales over the past 60 years. Discussion topics included the value of historical and contemporary research at heritage sites; how such work can reveal the complexity of identity; and how nations, memories, and our collective heritage change with time, political shifts, and cultural expression.


About the Social Sciences Department at Michigan Tech

Michigan Tech’s Department of Social Sciences offers bachelor of science degrees in AnthropologyPolicy and Community DevelopmentSustainability Science and Society, and Social Science, along with a bachelor of arts degree in History. Our graduate program includes masters and doctoral degrees in Environmental and Energy Policy and Industrial Heritage and Architecture (the only one of its kind in the world), and a master’s in Sustainable Communities. Plus, you can get a graduate certificate in Public Policy in by taking three courses in just one term.

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