Oct. 28, 2017
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Colleen Lucey, Naomi Caffee and Benjamin Jens have been awarded a Department of State Peer-to-Peer Grant administered by the American Embassy in Moscow for 2017-2018. This grant will fund a new project between UA Department of Russian and Slavic Studies and the GRINT Center at Moscow University for the Humanities (MUH). Through a new co-convened college course on Russian and American foodways, which includes a built-in study abroad component to sites in Russia and the US, the “UA|GRINT Friendship Garden” program will fund a cohort of Russian and American students to travel and collaborate on urban farming. Participants will collaborate on a plot of land at the Tucson Village Farm and grow traditional Sonoran and Russian crops. The central goal of the program is to use the common language of food to foster dialogue, cultural literacy, and mutual understanding between American and Russian partners. Program participants will discover cultural similarities and differences through gardening, hospitality, and the positive memories of a shared experience between American and Russian students.
The Department of Russian and Slavic Studies would like to thank Kim Nicolini, Dale La Fleur, Ken McAllister, Elizabeth Sparks, Daniel McDonald, and Gennady Sare for their support with the application.