Cultural Ecology of Ireland is a Hawaii Community College Study Abroad experience for students, faculty and staff of the University of Hawaii system. The program is the result of a collaboration between Hawaii CC faculty and counselors and designed to introduce students to the unique culture and ecology of Ireland, and to help them understand the ties that unite island cultures, even in diverse and varied ecosystems. We will also explore ways in which the environment affects culture and culture changes the environment. Ryan McCormick and Pamela Scheffler will be the faculty leads. Niamh Hamill and John O'Connoll of the Institute of Study Abroad Ireland are our in-country partners and source of expertise.
Ryan McCormick teaches in the Hawaii Life Styles program at Hawaii CC.
Dr. Pamela Scheffler (Mela) teaches in the Hawaii CC Tropical Ecosystem and Agroforestry Management (TEAM) program as well as in the natural sciences department. She first visited Ireland in 1990 with a good friend and a bicycle. Since that time she has lived and studied in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Brazil and India. Her doctoral work involved studying the effect of timber harvest on biodiversity in an indigenous territory in Brazil; more recent research includes studying traditional South Indian agricultural use of forests and incorporation of forest species into the agricultural landscape. She brings to this course a passion for the natural world and how it shapes, and is shaped by, human culture. She has been leading UHCC students to Ireland as a part of the Cultural Ecology of Ireland class since 2016.
Dr. Niamh Hamill founded the Institute of Study Abroad Ireland in 1996. Niamh is a lecturer in Irish history and culture and has lectured and presented both as an academic and a fervent promoter of study abroad programs worldwide. She gained her Ph.D. in History and Culture from Drew University.
John O’Connell is co-director of the Institute of Study Abroad Ireland. A Donegal native, John ensures excellent hospitality and a warm welcome for all our visitors. John oversees all your requirements in accommodation, transport, meal plans and the other logistics of your study abroad program.