xt7qjq0svc2s https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7qjq0svc2s/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Kentucky University of Kentucky. Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies 1997 volumes. Call Number: LD2762.9 .K38c. Accession Number: 2018ua049 journals LD2762.9 .K38c English Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection University of Kentucky Odyssey Magazine Research -- Kentucky -- Periodicals Education -- Research -- Periodicals Research -- Kentucky Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research, Summer/Fall 1997 text images Odyssey: The Magazine of University of Kentucky Research, Summer/Fall 1997 1997 1997 2026 true xt7qjq0svc2s section xt7qjq0svc2s 1 THE MAGAZINE OF UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY RESEARCH ° SUMMER/FALL 1997 0

BRINGING I a
A GLOBAL - . __
PERSPECTIVE ‘

OD Y5§EY
I'M ( 'HI‘IW '1} /)/'/\'<’mm‘l{\ 3prmncr[pub/1111mm
m1 )‘(Ut’417’i/7 mn/gmdmm JIM/[1‘33

President
,\\'ethingtun Ir.

(iharlm

Vice President. Research 8: Graduate Studies
Executive Directon
University of Kentucky Research Foundation
l'it/gctald B. Britnmcll

Assistant Vice I’resident‘
Research & Graduate Studies
lmcph l . l'tnlx' lll

Dean, The Graduate School
.\llLlldCl l. Nict/cl

Vice Chancellor. Academic Affairs 8): Research
Lexington Campus
Druid 5. Watt

Vice Chancellon Research &' Graduate Studies
Chandler Medical Center
Delumul (i. (inlltnx

Research 8: Graduate Studies

‘\dntint\tttni\c \llanx l«l\l\ \ripplcc
(\nnnmnimtmnx t\ ,\tl\rtntcntcm l)L’lVULIl‘. \\ UM
UH hinn ml litlmttnrn'x Minna?

Rcmurtcx CV l'rmcmt} \ctt‘rtnanru: ('rctgltmn Italian
lucndul (Ltntpux KiltlleltHC l‘mgiant linnm ()Rwlit
l\lL'Hlt\l \llintx \\'tlltantc\ch\\ct1
lnlntmrnmn Mn ntw lill l >lL1ﬂl
lnttllcttual l‘mpt'rtim Donald Ruth
Spunwtctl l'tngmni llcwlupmcm

c\' Rucrtrtlt \nlnmx Uttitc \tlri hue \clmt/
Spnnmtcrl l‘mtcth '\\lmllll\l!_lllttl‘. lklmrah l)_t\t~
sltllllllllcc‘l Rmtune lluhsun
Mmcv Rewarcl: (cntt: lurcm \\ mnl

()1) 31835) '

liditnr lclt \Vnrlui'
Nahum [dimt ‘\!itia l’, Lilt‘gUI‘V
l’rmltntiun Anixiant [m l5, 1 l/cl’

Rt‘xcarcli ix (iraduatc \tuxlicx
()llitu or(:mnintinicaiium 6X ’\(l\;l[h\'[]lt[11

10‘) Kinlccad Hall

l'niwrxiti' ml Kcntuck}

lcxingmn, Kentucky {HSUGJWV
000/ ‘ 'HIXI‘)‘

l axe (\(‘Ih'li-n‘ﬁl‘ﬂ

tlchweislﬂ puntilu'xdu

\\'\\'\\.tgs.ule\1cdt1

UNIVERSITY OF KENTL CKY

FEATURES

BRINGING A 2
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE HOME

A growing numher ()fUKfaculQ/ travel to countriex all over the world to
[lo rexearch, and they [771,7ng ﬂrythanal hnou'leclge (father culturw~ lute/e to
the clawraam.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCES FOR 11
UNDERGRADUATES PROGRAM

BRINGING A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

THRIVINC AT UK HOME. p.2

Studentxﬁam Kentucky and acrosx the nation are gaining rexearch
shilh in an eight—week math and engineering research program at UK.

MAPPING KENTUCKY’S PAST, 15
PRESENT, AN D FUTURE

Through G15 mapping, the Appalachian Center is creating a picture

qfurhat it means to live in Appalachia.

FROM BENCH TO BEDSIDE: 23 _' ,‘
THE LONG JOURNEY OF A VACCINE gauge”

UK researchem are testing new vaccine: that prolong cancer patient:’ U ”DERGRADUATES PR°GRAM

. . . . . THRIVING AT UK, P. 11
xurmual hy stimulating their immune system:.

DEPARTMENTS

HONORABLE 18 KIOSK 26
MENTION [5 Pidelityfbr the Birds?

Impact anal Achievement; Ken tu [19/ Forest: Worth

ofUK Graduate Program Alumni $4 Billian

Butterﬂelcl Win; ’1qu Awardsfbr
Research ana’ Graduate Education

UK Hiytory Przy‘ejsors W/in
Guggenheim;
and more...

UPDATE 35 KIOSK, p. 26
Beating Back the Aphid Attack

UK re5earcher clixcauer;
houI aphids tranmut znruxey

Cover photo: Luggage murlm‘
0f ]. l’eterman (laminar/'1‘ More

@199" L'nivcrsity of; Kentucky.

All righxs reserved

ost of the hundreds of research projects

under way at the Uri/liversity of Kentucky
are being carried out right here at home. But
because of their research interests and areas of
expertise, a growing nmn her of UK facn lty tra oel
to cozmtries all over the world to get ﬁrsthand
knowledge of other Clilllll'PS. ﬁvefollowing are
on l y a. few of the many research activities ta/eii 2g
place beyond US. borders.

BRINGING

PERSPE< I l I V E

(4' \\

2 O 1) Y5 S E l”

Connecting with Central Asia
Roger Anderson. director of CK‘s Kazakh—

American Studies Center. enjoys his work
here with faculty who opt to make the
3.000—mile trip to Central Asia. and he
loves the 25—acre farm 10 miles south of
Lexington that he shares with his wife and
daughter. Life For him in central Kentucky
is good. But he also admits to “an extreme
fondness" hit his home—awa‘v—h‘om/home
* Kiuakhstan. a former republic ot‘the USSR.

"l went to Kazakhstan for the ﬁrst time in
1963.” says Anderson. a professor of Rus-
sian and liastern Studies. “l returned in ‘87
and went back again with my family on a
Fulbright in 1990. at a turning point in
Soviet history." He explains that because of
its “geopolitical place“ between Russia and
China and its rich natural resource base
(Kazakhstan has greater oil reserves than
the entire Middle liastl. Kazakhstan has
become politically pivotal. "This is one of
the important reasons I became so inter—
ested in this region." Anderson explains.
His locus. which led to his founding otthe
Kazakh Center. has resulted in nearly
5400.000 worth of grants awarded to the
center since 1994 and several successful re-
lated extramurally Funded activities at UK —
by the College or Business and Economics.
the Martin School of Public Policy and
Administration and the College of Law.

Andersons primary goal through all of.
this work has been to internationalize the
campus in academic and "real—world“ ways.
"I see a great deal ot‘beneﬁt {or UK through
the broad range oftaculry who have gone to
Kazakhstan. In the past four years. we‘ve sent
faculty from anthropology political science.
history. film history. ESL [English as a Second
Language]. social geography. law. business
and economics and education.“ To date. 15
UK faculty have taught for one to two months
in one otithree Kazakhstan universities or in a
neighboring republic.

ODYSSEY

Stan Brunn1a L'Kprofessorofigeography.
is packing his bags this week for his second
trip to Kazakhstan. ”I‘ll be teaching at the
same university as last time. .Almaty. where
I taught in the spring of l 990.“ Brunn says.
He believes that flexibility is the most im»
portant single characteristic for an Ameri-
can professor who finds himselfor herselfin
the Russian university system. On his last
trip. Brunn was asked beforehand to teach
threecourses andl 1ecameprep aredtodoso

lhe problem W or I should sa_1 challenge
7 was. when I not to Aln1at1 the adminis—
tration 11 anted me to teach three completely
different courses. Brunn says. \eah .flex»
ibility A that‘s the key.“

lo begin to gain insight into the minds of
theK Ka/akh people. Anderson says West-
erners must be aware of the distincti1e
attitude of‘Soviet people toward authority.
And Anderson believes this psychological
stance hasn‘t changed greatly since the de»
struction ofthe Iron Curtain.

”'lihere‘s a legacy in the Soviet Linion of
viewing with suspicion personal originality
on the job or entrepreneurship. History
still inhibits many people from taking the
kind of personal responsibility and long—
term private planning which is so commonly
accepted in the West." Anderson says.

Another maior cultural and political dif-
ference. he says. has to do with loyalty
within “highly personal networks.” He says
that in contrast to the ideals ofan American
meritocracy —— advancing because of pro»
fessional merit * post Soviet citirens still
tend to rely on very personal networks 111
the workplace. In Kazakhstan the Sov iet
attitude of distributing goods and favors
from the ~to-p down still exists. \When you
are in a position of authorm — greatoi small
— v 011 take care ofyour own. Anderson says.

It s 1ery clannish and personal. and makes
getting ahead on your own very difficult."

This is not to say that the many nation—
alities that comprise KaZakhstan‘s popula—
tion (Kazakhs. Russians. Liigurs. Koreans)
arent industrious. Anderson says that it‘s

[7mm /{1/ I 11' 771mm“-

ROGER ANDERSON, DIRECTOR OF THE KAZAKH-AMERICAN STUDIES CEN-

TER. SAYS THAT IT’S NOT UNUSUAL FOR PEOPLE IN KAZAKHSTAN TO HAVE

THREE OR FOUR JOBS JUST TO MAKE ENDS MEET.

not unusual for people to have three or four
jobs just to make ends meet so that their
families can survive in a world that‘s been
transformed under their feet.

"Not too many ofithese people have easy
lives.“ says Alan DeYoung. a L'K professor
of‘educational policy. “Living in L'7bekistan
isn tfo1 the faint hearted Deaounv who
has 11 orde 111 the Republics of Kazakhstan
L 7bekistan and K1 r1117stan as part of the
L K proviam. admits that liv mg and teach—
ing in thisp art of the world is a rugged
venture. llie local topography is basically
rocky and stark. and in the summer months
”rivals the Arizona desert as far as environ—
mental hospitality goes.“ he says.

DeYoung stresses the partnership aspect
of this program 11nd believes that Americans
clearly have sortie things to learn from the
Central Asians. "On weekends. families
flock to the cities — the cities in this area are
desirable places to be.“ he says. "Villagers
from outlying areas can take busses at low
cost. and it's mostly a family thing W
10.000 people some weekends gathering in

publicparksandsofortl De\oungpoints
out the ob1 tous contrast with some larger
L75. inner cities. which have been allowed
to decay and have been all but abandoned.

(ireg 11111111. an associate professor of
English at L'K. traveled to Almaty.
Kazakhstan‘s capital. in May of 1993 and
spent a month screening and introducing a
series of~ classic American movies. “I did
this through a translator.“ Waller points
out. “The films were shown in English
without subtitles at what used to be the
Cot11111unist l’arty film theater.“ He says
that showing the series of‘seven films was a
rousing success. The films included “The
Gold Rush.““The(iodfatl1erf‘The Deer
Hunter.“.\lr. Smith Goes to \\"ash—
ington.”Casablanca."‘"lihe Searchers“
and "The Maltese Falcon.“

\Vihile in Almaty. 11111111 spent several
days at the Kazakhfilm Studios. inteniew—
ing filmmakers and 11 atch ingi a broad selec4
tion of Kazakh feature films ands horts. “lt
was an extraordinary situation being able

.\ ("H .l! 1"- R 11"." 1" 11" 1“ U ‘3' ‘ i

ODYSSEY

I ’/mm by [11’ '/ 7711mm

UK ENGLISH PROFESSOR GREG WALLER BROUGHT SEVEN CLASSIC AMERI-
CAN FILMS TO THE FORMER COMMUNIST PARTY THEATER IN KAZAKHSTAN.

to visit for a month. see so many films, meet
people in the industry, and become familiar
with that part of the world," \X’aller says.
\X"hen UK scholars and researchers re—
turn to Kentucky, they bring with them
fresh knowledge about a people and culture
that for decades was nearly inaccessible to
Westerners. “One clear benefit for UK fac-

from halfway around the world may be
standard operating procedure for a geologist.
but why did Brunn, a geographer, do it?

”I think ofthese rocks as mementos. not
for tnyself but for my students," he ex—
plains. “Whoever does best on an exam gets
a rock." Asked whether this reward system
makes students study harder, Brunn says.

“There’s a legacy in the Soviet Union oft/vetting

with suspicion personal ongz'imlz'ry on rbejob 0r

WWQPVQWGWSMP ”— Roger AIM/(’IXUII

ulty members who make the trip is that,
whatever their discipline, they return with
a comparatist view,“ says Anderson. “Stan
in geography or Jim Freeman in BESCE and
law. Don Gross in political science or Greg
in film history have all worked with their
counterparts in Kazakhstan. They bring
back a fresh sense ofwhat‘s happening there
in their fields of study, different points of
view, and this invariably filters back through
their course material.“ In this way, Ander—
son says, both UK faculty and students
clearly benefit.

Brunn, on his previous trip, brought
back something even more tangible: Kazakh
rocks. Lugging back a suitcase full of rocks

4 () D VS 5' [5 )'

“It seems to work.“

Anderson adds that another benefit of
the Kazakh—UK exchange is that a number
of UK students have been able to sample
another culture and that their work in
Kazakhstan booststheir career options. Sev»
eral UK students, he says. have landed jobs
because oftheir activities in Central Asia as
undergraduates or graduate students.

Anderson underscores the point that this
exchange is mutually beneficial. “It‘s been
good for Kazakhstan in a number of
ways,"he explains. u\X/eye trained many of
the republic's future leaders in university
administration and academic disciplines,

hosted Kazakhstani Fulbright scholars, and

offered linglishdanguage training to
Kazakhstanis faculty and students.

In considering the l'niversity of
Kentuckvs educational role in the exchange.
Anderson says that [K is clearly the educa—
tional leader ofall American universities in
Kazakhstan. 'l'hinking back to the genesis
ofthe exchange, Anderson says he‘s glad the
administration here recogni/ed and took
advantage of the ”historical moment."

"il‘he door opened at the right time. and
l decided to go through it.“ says Anderson.
"I didnt reali/e then there would be all
these opportunities opening tip. It‘s been
the right thing to do."

E a:

In a land Where rice is king
for Korean farmers, the sight ofL'K‘s l.arr_v
Burmeister making his way through a rice
paddy is surely something to behold. For
one thing, Burmeister, an associate profes—
sor of agricultural rural sociology, is a lean
(3' 4"tall. Burmeister also looks, well, un—
mistakably lli't’a'l‘t’fﬂ.

“Early on. it was important for me to get
out into the fields and see the different
varieties being produced since my research
was focused on technical change in rice
production,“Burmeister explains. "So 1
needed to examine the physical characteris—
tics of rice paddy production and of the
plants.“

To try to understand what makes Korean
agriculture tick, a researcher needs to study
the various facets of rice production,

Burmeister says. Rice is to Korean agricul—
ture what tobacco is to Kentucky agricul—
ture. only more so. Rice is cultivated by 83
percent of‘ all Korean farm households.
The income from rice production averages
4‘) percent of agricultural income and 28
percent of total income per farm house«
hold. according to agricultural researcher
.\l\'ung—Hwan Kitn.

Rice 1s z/w staple food In Kotea savs
Burmeister.
whats going on without focusing on rice.

lt s really hard to analyze

But rice farming is now threatened,
Burmeister explains. becattse of new laws
which haveopened Korea‘s agricultural mar»
ltets to cheaper imports. resulting not only
in unprecedented competition for farmers.
but also speeding up changes in Koreans
food preferences. Per capita rice consump—
tion has steadily declined since 1980 in
both urban and farm households.

An organization called the Agricultural
(iooperatiye has been dealing with this
change. Burmeister explains. challenging
import liberalization and exhorting Korean
consumers to eat more traditional foods.
particularly rice. The strategies and actions
ofithis agricultural group are a major focus
of Burmeister‘s current research.

\X'ith the new potential influx of‘lower—
priced rice from other countries including
the L'nited States. Korean rice farmers are
definitely feeling the pinch. And because
land is a fixed commodity. it‘s not simply a
matter of‘the farmers producing more rice
to buffer their losses.

”You have to realize that the typical Ko—
rean farm is small."

says Burmeistet. “£17111
by our standards — around three acres

usually. 80 meeting the new challenge of
. c c

competing with the itnports is incredibly
tough for a lot of farmers.‘~

To come to their rescue. the cooperative
initiated a promotional campaign to encour—
age the consumption of Korean-produced
foods. This “formidable organization." as
Burmeister characterizes it. launched its pub-
lic relations campaign with solid backing:
the organization has approximately (1”.000
employees and a membership base of“)0 to
93 percent ofall Korean farm households.

- Uta/ma

/)/’({/fi //

es». - .. re mac—am.»
E”

.i.

_ ' ‘7 A 4) ‘
LARRY BURMEISTER SAYS NEw LAws‘i-IAVE OPENED KOREA’S AGRICUL-
TURAL MARKETS To CHEAPER IMPq‘iaTs, RE%LTING: NOT ONLY IN
UNPRECEDENTED COMPETITION FOR FARMERS, BUT ALSO SPEEDING up

CHANGES n5: KOREAN 5 FOOD PREFERENCES.

The slogati z(liove Our Agricultural Prod—
ucts“ was adopted for the campaign. “The
English translation is only approximate."
Burmeister explains. “Because ofthe conno—
tation ofithe Chinese characters in the slogan.
it suggests not merely ‘freqtieiit use‘ but use
linked to emotional attachment as well.”

Ads using this slogan were displayed in
various media billboards on freeways. on
the Seoul subway. and were posted in bank
offices. Related themes in the campaign
emphasized the importance ofagrarianism
and what Burmeister calls “dietary mo-

nism“ (the idea that distinctive patterns of

food consumption have evolved as a unique
and important cultural way to maintain
Koreans‘ physical and psychic health).
These themes were also developed in two
comic books distributed by the cooperative
to Korean elementary schools in 1990 and
1991.

“These comics were prettvamazing."s says
Burmeister In one episode. a primars
school student 1s teased by his friends for
taking a traditional lunch of me and ltimchi
to school. His schoolmates. you see. have
Western-style lunches. Then the student is
transported supernaturally to the labot‘a»
tory of‘a research scientist who teaches him
about the nutritional advantages of‘ the
traditional Korean diet over \V'estern food.
The kids classmates are found to be not

a 4'
.'V*‘

e , i

.
' only forsaking Korea s cultural heritage but

’also endangering their health

The stridency of the comic book mes—
sages. especially allegations about unsafe
\Western foods. enraged US. trade officials.
and in response to complaints lodged
through diplomatic channels. the coopera—
tive stopped distributing the comics.

The overall success of such a campaign.
Burmeistet says. is very hard to measure.
but recent statistics on the number of‘fiatm
households in Korea suggest that the cam—
paign has not been effective in reducing the
exodus of‘ Koreans from the farm. Tron}
1990. when the campaign started. farm
population fell from 6.61 million to 5.?—
million: the number of~ farm households
declined from 1.“ million to 1.56million.

“These numbers pose a really interesting
question for the future of agriculture in

. “And f'tom the
conversations I've had with fatmets and
their famiiies in the past few seats. thete
seems to be an almost totai lack otintetest
among the younger generation in continu—
ing to farm. He adds th at in talking to
college professots tn the country he sfound

Koreafsavs Suttneister.

that vet} few agricultut ’ students hase am
intetes‘t i n going back to their home \ illages
to work on the farm,

ODYSSEY

A KOREAN
MARKET

BRIMS WITH
LOCALLY

GROWN PRODUCE.

Worn the conversations I he [and untbfnrmeis,
there seems to be an almost total lac/e oftnterest
among the younger generation in continuing

{Ofell‘lll P) — [any Burmeister

“Lots and lots of young people see this as
a bad economic venture: they just donit
believe there’s any future in it." Burmeister
adds,

Burmeister contrasts the negative atti—
tude of Korean young people toward farm—
ing with the situation in Kentucky. “id say
around five to 10 percent olour agricultural
college graduates at UK go back to produc—
tion agriculture,” he states. “It‘s an impor—
tant kind of human capital reservoir for
rural communities."

was nothing comparable to this kind of
enthusiasm among its agriculture graduates
in Korea, is rice farming headed for an
inevitable collapse?

“Right now, the question is wide
open,"l3urmeister says, “but it‘s certainly
something I‘m going to take an in—depth
look at in the future.” He adds that Korea,
as well as some other East Asian countries
whose young people feel a malaise about
farming as a career, will deﬁnitely have to
develop new ideas about what agriculture
means if it is to survive as a viable sector. in
this process of re—deﬁnition, the govern—
ment might be wise, Burmeister says, to first
of all appeal to tradition. “People still have
ties to rural regions where their families
originated. During the traditional Korean
New Year’s holiday, for example, it‘s cus—
tomary for Korean cityodwellers to go back

6 ODYSSEY

and visit their home villages.“

The indigenous physical beauty oil the
countryside will surely be routed in any
Future campaign to bolster the farming
image, Burmeister believes, adding that the
government will also surely need to step in
to provide support. “Governments in the
region might, for example, pay Farmers a
certain amount each year for preserving the
landscape,“he says. “That would be one
approach. Some form ol‘linancial support,
in any case, will have to be there,"
Burmeister’s best guess is that agricultural
products themselves will become less im‘
portant than the sense ol~ what agriculture
means — to the environment, to the land—
scape, to rural tourism and to the culture in
general.

Burmeister‘s various insights about Ko~
rean agriculture take on another dimension
oliimportance when he returns to the Lex—
ington campus. “I think it’s important to
talk to my colleagues in the held, my stu-
dents, and Kentuckians," he says. “It‘s a
global economy now. What‘s occurring
over there has serious economic implica-
tions for our own agricultural situation.”

He also believes we have a lair amount to
learn from attempts by Korean policy mak~
ers to deal with the social by-products of
agriculture, such as the landscape amenities
agriculture provides. “\‘C’e like our sur-

rounding countryside in Lexington, but it’s
continually being eaten away by develop—
ers; it’s an embattled landscape. One olthe
justiﬁcations for someone from UK going
over there to do research is to study how
their agriculture is dealing with various
development pressures.”

Burmeister is clearly excited about —
and grateful for — the time he's spent in
Korea. “l figure since l980 I‘ve spent a
total of four years of my life there,"he says,
“and it’s been great. It’s a privilege very few
of us have— to try to understand the world
views olpeople in another culture, to speak
to them in their own language. lris no
secret that the long Korean—American rela-
tionship hasn‘t been a completely happy
one. But it‘s clear Koreans truly appreciate
the American interest in their culture.“

=
Unraveling the political
complexities ofNorthernlreland

The complex and entrenched political
struggle in Northern Ireland wasn’t what
first led Cynthia lrvin there. She-was drawn,
instead, by something close to the hearts of
many Kentuckians — horses.

“This was in the late i?0s.“says lrvin, an
assistant professor of political science at
UK. “I went to Dublin to work with horses;
l was pretty Far removed from any involve-
ment in Trish politics.”

Ayear later, though, lrvin went to France
to lead a summer abroad program called
The Experiment in International Living
(now called World Learning). in Paris. and
in her various travels, she met a number of
political exiles which, she says, “gave me a
feel for what was happening in their politi-
cally troubled countries.“

When she coordinated a subsequent stu—
dent abroad program in Ireland in l983.
she began to develop the intense interest in
lrish politics that later led to her doctoral
work and to the UK political science de—
partment. “The political situation being
what it was, l was trying to arrange for the
students to meet with representatives from

47 ‘\
E 0:.

\‘t

all the political parties,” Irvin says. “And since
I found it difficult to discuss Irish politics
without discussing the IRA or its political
wing, Sinnfein (pronounced Shin—fane), I
decided to try to arrange a meeting for the
students with these organizations.”

Irvin adds that she wasn’t exactly encour—
aged to do this. “Oh no, you don’twant to
do that,’ people would tell me. It was kind
of a taboo to so actively acknowledge that
these people existed," she says. But one
day, she “just knock, knock, knocked on
their door in Dublin. And from everything
people had told me, I expected that I was
either going to be immediately deported, or
possibly shot.”

Irvin didn’t get deported — or shot.
Instead, she says, she and the students had an
interesting and productive meeting with
several representatives ofSinnfein. And, in
looking back at this incident, Irvin sees it as
a defining moment in her academic life.
“By stepping through that door, I began a
journey that would lead me to graduate
school and to the study of ethnic identity,
historical memory, nationalism and con—
flict," she says.

Since at this time Irvin was living in a
working—class Catholic neighborhood, she
had a close—up look at the conflict between
the Northern Irish and the British. “I came
to understand perfectly why the IRA ex—
isted and why people would join the IRA.
It was like living in a war zone. It was truly
awful.”

Irvin cites one example ofa local family
that the British soldiers uloved to harass"
because one son was in prison for being in
the IRA. The soldiers came into the house
with a computerized print—out of every
room — where the furniture was placed,
the color of the walls, and so forth. The
family had recently wallpapered the living
room. The soldiers, perhaps suspecting
that guns were now hidden behind the
walls, tore through every wall in the room.
u\Worse,”says Irvin, “is that the soldiers
urinated and defecated in the husband and
wife’s bed. Their 10-year-old son wit—
nessed this. It’s no secret that an incident
like this can make a kid angry enough to
join the IRA when he grows a bit older."

Enfrm/fnlmrs

Visas

D’Wﬁurrs 501m,

655555513657

: 9V§99V999V959V§GGVE

..,M

“Ifyou wartt toggle?
the IRA go aura},a it’s

iii

i
z
5
E

simple — just Comm?

people on the street
that they can achieve
through politics what
the IRA can achieve
through guns. ”

— a leading memher of Sirmfeih

To balance this example a bit, Irvin points
out that “it’s surely horrible”to be a British
soldier in Northern Ireland. From her
experience, she says, the soldiers are totally
ignored by the populace. “A soldier may
come up to one ofthe locals and say, ‘Nice
day; it’s not raining,’ just trying to engage
in normal conversation. And time after time
he will be totally ignored. And the soldiers
didn’t ask for this duty— they were just sent
there.”

Supported by a $42,000 grant from the
U.S. Institute of Peace, Irvin will again
travel to Northern Ireland this summer.
The focus ofher work this time will be to try
to determine to what extent international
economic assistance helps, if at all, to re—
solve conflict in Northern Ireland. The
connection between economic well being
and a lessening ofconflict — the idea that
with prosperity comes peace — is one that
clearly intrigues Irvin.

The recent infusion of money from the
United States and the European Union in

WHEN SHE KNOCKED ON THE IRA’S
DOOR IN DUBLIN, CYNTHIA IRVIN BE-
GAN A JOURNEY TO EXPLORE ETHNIC
IDENTITY, HISTORICAL MEMORY, NA-
TIONALISM, AND CONFLICT.

this endeavor is starting to make a differ—
ence in the most disadvantaged communi—
ties, Irvin says. “Here’s the idea: ifyou have
two economically disadvantaged commu-
nities side by side w one Catholic and one
Protestant, for example — the very condition
of their existence leads, in part, to frustra-
tion and violence. With a heightened level
of economic well being, the self—esteem of
people in both communities tends to rise.
Antagonism toward the ‘other’ lessens; then
community representatives can begin to
discuss problems with one another in a
calmer, more rational way.

This, anyway, is the theory. But Irvin has
her doubts about her research supporting
the likelihood of this scenario. “I’ll be
surprised, frankly, if we find that this eco—
nomic assistance is very effectivefshe says.
“Take the kid who got caught and sent to
jail for being in the IRA, for instance. True,
ifhe’d had a job and had been on the job the
day he got arrested, he clearlywouldnit have
been jailed that day. But is havinga job and
being somewhat better off financially going
to blot out from his memory years and years

continued on page 8

SUMMER ./ FALL

1997' 7

ODYSSEY

ofbuilt—up resentment? That doesn’t seem
very plausible to me."

Besides doing “a fair amount of library
work” and interviews with various people,
Irvin will analyze the results from a public
opinion survey she designed to assess public
attitudes about the effectiveness of eco—
nomic development in building intereth—
nic cooperation and resolving the conflict.
In this work she will be collaborating with
Sean Byrne, from the Department of Dis—
pute Resolution at Nova Southeastern Uni—
versity in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

“There’s a range ofdifferent groups that
have received funding, so we’ll be inter—
viewing people who are in charge of the
newly funded projects as well as those who
are beginning to benefit from them,”she
explains. Irvin adds that the public opinion
poll will be the first in Northern Ireland, to
the researchers’ knowledge, to address the
topic of “peace through prosperity.”

She has already seen some early indica—
tions that the economic assistance is begin—
ning to reduce tensions in some areas, and
she is encouraged by these signs. W’ith a
growth of self—esteem, she says, the people
ofNorthern Ireland may begin to trust the
political system more, rather than resort to
violence to effect change. “As a leading
member ofSinnfein told me, ‘Ifyou want
to make the IRA go away, it‘s simple m just
convince people on the street that they can
achieve through politics what the IRA can
achieve through guns.m

When asked how her work in Northern
Ireland is relevant to Kentucky and Ken—
tuckians, Irvin says, “I can’t wait to answer
that question. In one rural community I
know of in Northern Ireland —— very
underfunded in terms of education and health
care — they’ve come up with the most
amazing scheme. ‘With this new avail—
ability of money, the community got some
initial funding for five project directors
who each trained five outreach people to
make some local contacts in the commu—
nity. The 25 outreach people have been
going into the homes ofsingle-parent fami—
lies and simply asking what they need —
child care, health care, educational oppor—
tunity and so forth — and pointing out
that the funds do exist now to help them.”

8 ODYSSEY

She adds that the outreach workers also
screen for several problems in the home
such as child abuse. This kind of grass-
roots “train—the—trainer’program could also
work well, Irvin says, in rural areas of Ken—
tucky.

“I have the feeling I’m going to come
back to UK with something like ‘1 0 Great
Ideas for Community Development,’
which, with a little tinkering might be quite
applicable to communities in our state."

IVS/Ede countries send
peacekeeping troops?

Another member of the UK political sci—
ence department, Karen Mingst, has also
taken her research interests beyond US.
borders. Mingst, currently chair of the
department, is studying the reasons why
countries decide to commit troops for
United Nations peacekeeping efforts. Her
research includes a wide range of countries
— Sweden, Canada, Norway, Ireland, Ni—
geria, Ghana, Fiji, Nepal and India.

“The project focuses squarely on a crucial
question in international relations — why
states choose to cooperate,” says Mingst.
Since no one has done a comprehensive
study of why countries choose to partici—
pate, Mingst — supported by a $27,000
grant from the US. Institute ofPeace — is
breaking new ground with this work.

She has recently returned from working
in Canada, where, Mingst says, this issue is
causing the hottest debate among partici—
paring countries. Several ugly incidents
involving the Canadian military recently
have given rise to two best—selling books
and a Canadian docudrama. And last sum—
mer trials of the military were televised
nationwide.

The incident that fueled public outrage
in Canada occurred when Canadian troops

UK POLITICAL SCIENTIST KAREN
MINGSTISWORKINGTOUNDERSTAND
WHYCOUNTRIESCOMMITTROOPSFOR
UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEP