JOUR 299 – Reporting and Communicating the Climate Crisis in Barbados

Four Credits, FDR-SS5
1 weeks on campus; three weeks in Barbados
Professors Toni Locy and Jared Macary 

Want to learn how one island nation is confronting climate change at the local, national and international levels? Study abroad in Barbados in spring 2025 with journalism Prof. Toni Locy and strategic communication professor Jared Macary. Over three weeks on the island, students will learn about the impact of colonialism and industrialization-and how the female prime minister of Barbados is leading the way for poorer nations to hold wealthier countries accountable for their culpability in the climate crisis. Students will either report, write and produce news stories about the efforts with Prof. Locy. Or they will work under the guidance of Prof. Macary in helping a nongovernmental organization with messaging that seeks to raise awareness and find solutions to the crisis. We will start the course on campus in Lexington for a few days before flying to Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados, where we will engage with governmental, academic and community leaders. We will move to Bathsheba on the island's east coast, where we will meet with people who are on the front lines of combating beach erosion and other impacts of fossil fuel emissions. We will return to Bridgetown for the last few days of our trip to wrap up our work before heading home.

For further details, please contact Professor Locy (locyt@wlu.edu) or Professor Macary (jmacary@wlu.edu).

Program fee (Paid to W&L): $4,922

Includes airfare, programming, room, fees, transportation to and from the airport, a few meals (~8 breakfasts and ~1 dinner) and in-country transportation.

Additional costs: most meals, cell phone, spending money, passport, and visa fees (if applicable).
NOTE: Students interested in pursuing optional scuba diving PADI certification will be charged an additional $550 (for a total program fee of $5,472).

Please click the "Start New Application" button to start an application. Please click the "Resume Application" button to access an application you've already started. Please do not open multiple applications for the same program.

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Applications open October 4th, 2024.