Joint Courses
Platform of Joint Courses
Greater flexibility and assistance during the transition to a new curriculum in 2005-06 were key needs identified by UADY. In response, a platform of joint courses that is linked with our research platform was planned in accordance with our TIES proposal. This teaching platform involves equal participation by (mostly graduate) students and faculty from UADY and Cornell University. Students and faculty from the Universidad Veracruzana (UV) also will participate.
The joint courses include:
An Sc 400 Livestock in Tropical Farming Systems
Spring. 3 credits. Prerequisite: upperclass standing. Field trip to the Yucatán Peninsula of México during spring break in March.
This course comprises analyses of constraints on livestock production in developing countries of the tropics, economic objectives and risk, and methods of management. The 2006-07 editions focus on livestock systems in the Yucatán Peninsula. Emphasis is on strategic use of animal and plant resources, animal performance with inputs restricted, decision making, and alternative systems of production. Principles, real examples, field study, independent study projects and classroom interactions aided by video-conferencing with Mexican partners facilitate problem-solving efforts to improve welfare of rural households. Interactions with Mexican farmers and other professionals during a 10-day field-study trip provide context and collaborative opportunities for developing study projects aligned with needs of Yucatecan livestock owners.
An Sc 640 TIES Seminar, Decision Support of Ruminant Livestock Systems in the Gulf Region of México [US-Mexico Training, Internships, Exchanges, and Scholarships (TIES) Partnership Initiative]
Fall 2005 and Spring 2006. 1 credit. S-U only.
Subject matter of the TIES seminar involves research and training collaborations between Cornell University and Mexican institutions in the Gulf Region of Mexico.
IARD 402 Agriculture in Developing Nations I—Gulf of Mexico edition
Fall. 2 credits.
The goal of this course is to acquaint students with the major issues and problems in international agriculture and rural development and demonstrate how problems in development are being addressed by various agencies in the Gulf Region of Mexico. The lectures/discussions explore the global and regional context for sustainable agricultural development and focus on broad development challenges in Latin America and selected cases in southern Mexico. This course may be taken as a stand-alone survey course in international agriculture. However, it is primarily a preparatory course for participants selected to participate in Agriculture in the Developing Nations II—Gulf of México edition (IARD 602), which includes a field trip to the Gulf Region of México in the intersession.
IARD 602 Agriculture in Developing Nations II—Gulf of Mexico edition
Spring. 3 credits. Prerequisites: IARD 402 and (or) permission of instructors. Field trip to the Gulf Region of México during January intersession.
This course is designed to provide students with first-hand opportunity to observe agricultural development in tropical México and to promote interdisciplinary exchange among staff, students and Mexican counterparts. A two-week "living laboratory" field-study trip in January to Yucatán, Tabasco and Veracruz is followed by discussions and written projects with oral presentation dealing with problems in food, agriculture, natural resources and livestock production in the context of social and economic conditions of the Gulf Region of México.
