The HART in the World (HITW) travel program, consisting of 10 undergrads and 3 grad students led by Professors Farshid Emami and Lida Oukaderova this year, have jetted off to Central Asia for a two week summer study abroad program.
The first few days involved some frantic hustling through airports, and upon landing, time spent exploring the monuments, palaces, museums, and bazaars of the capital Tashkent. The group will then fly to the small western city of Nukus, an area dotted with ancient ruins, and then cross the border to Tajikistan for a short day trip.
The trip comes after a mandatory spring HITW seminar where students learned about the cultural history of the region. They studied monuments from ancient times to the present, talked about how art, architecture and, later, film developed during specific historical and political periods. During this summer trip, students will understand Uzbekistan's cultural history in its historical progression and gain a better grasp of where the country is today.
Student Participants: Jonah Blunt, Prea Davis, Razella Freeman, Erin Kang, Jack McBurnett, Jessica Shi, Hamza Shili, Max Stith, Iris Xue, Hyacinthus Zhang, Dallin Evans, Xinyu Liang, Thais Olmos
The HART in the World (HITW) program gives undergraduates of any major at Rice the opportunity to study abroad internationally every other year. The department covers airfare, lodging, and site admissions for all participants. Every other summer, faculty members lead a group to visit one of the world's great cultural centers. Previous iterations of HITW include travel to Istanbul, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, and London. Applications for the next HITW program are intended to open up in Fall 2026.
Photos: Xinyu Liang, Hyacinthus Zhang
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