The Roo Honors Academy invites high school students to participate in a fun and intellectually engaging one-week summer enrichment program, June 21-25, 2021, in the Honors Program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The Academy will offer non-credit classes on environmental justice, food culture, the evolution of cities and wildlife, and the culture and history of Kansas City. For course descriptions, click on
+ Cuisine as Culture
Morning session with Dr. Stephen Christ.
Food, from its production to consumption, is a powerful symbol of social and cultural meaning. How food is prepared and consumed is packed with cultural, gender, religious, ethnic, and class meanings among many others. We will explore how and why we eat what we do, and how food is used to create distinctions between individuals and communities.
You can view Dr. Christ’s introduction to this class by clicking here.
+ Evolution of Cities and Wildlife
Morning session with Dr. Aaron Reed.
Aaron W. Reed, Ph.D., Associate Teaching Professor, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences Aaron W. Reed is the director of undergraduate curriculum and an associate teaching professor in the division of molecular biology and biochemistry in the UMKC School of Biological and Chemical Sciences. In his research, Dr. Reed investigates the demography of small mammals, population models, animal-plant interactions, mammalian population and community ecology, and foraging ecology. His contributions to research have been featured in over twenty published articles.
Human population growth is, ultimately, the most significant challenge to the conservation of wild populations. This class will explore how cities have evolved over time, how they threaten wildlife populations, and how conservation priorities are being incorporated in cities. We will test these ideas in the field by sampling diversity of vertebrates and pollinators in the Kansas City urban core.
You can view Dr. Reed’s introduction to this class by clicking here.
+ Environmental Justice
Afternoon session with Dr. Stephen Christ.
Stephen R. Christ, Ph.D. Assistant Teaching Professor, Honors Program Stephen R. Christ is an assistant teaching professor of social/behavioral science in the UMKC Honors Program. In his research, Dr. Christ examines the everyday experiences of Mexican immigrants in the United States that contribute to Mexican-American identity formation. More specifically, how Mexican Americans experience daily life at home, at work, in public life and in how these experiences impact their sense of personal identity, their relationships with natives, their interactions with their families and community and the identity work that goes into producing such categories and social worlds. He is currently working on a book, Authentic Imitations: Culture and Society in a Globalized World.
How is it that certain groups of people do not have access to basic resources, or are systematically burdened with pollution or environmental hazards to a greater extent than other groups? We begin by exploring foundational concepts such as justice, race, and class, and applying them to a series of case studies of environmental (in)justice in the U.S. Through these case studies, we will examine environmental justice issues in urban and rural settings; the strategies and politics of poor peoples’ environmental justice movements; problems associated with protected areas (e.g. national parks) and local populations; oil development and indigenous peoples, and climate justice in the global South.
You can view Dr. Christ’s introduction to the class here.
+ Kansas City as Text
Afternoon session with Dr. Henrietta Rix Wood.
Henrietta Rix Wood is a Teaching Professor in the Honors Program and teaches writing, research, and general education courses. Dr. Wood earned her interdisciplinary doctorate in English and History at UMKC; she has a master’s degree in English from UMKC and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Her research focuses on the rhetoric and history of women in the United States.
This class will use the “City as Text” learning method, which sends students into communities to investigate important issues and questions by mapping, observing, listening, and reflecting. Dr. Wood and UMKC Honors students, as well as many other Honors students and faculty, have used this fun and innovative educational approach for many years. A key component of the “City as Text” learning method is the “walkabout,” a structured investigation of a particular place. In teams on designated days, you will investigate the UMKC campus and the Country Club Plaza. We will prepare for the walkabouts by addressing conceptions of culture and background material. At the end of the week, you will collaborate with peers to produce a short presentation about what you learned.
You can view Dr. Wood’s introduction to the class by clicking here.
Participants will choose one morning course and one afternoon course taught by UMKC faculty members. All classes will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the Volker campus, near the Country Club Plaza.
Students need to provide their own transportation to and from the campus and bring their own lunch, except on Friday. Students who successfully complete each course will receive a “Recognition of Achievement” certificate from the UMKC Honors Program and a souvenir T-shirt.
The fee for the selective program open to thirty students in grades 9-12 is $265; children of UMKC employees are eligible for a $20 discount. Need-based scholarships may be available. For more information about scholarships or other questions about the Academy, please contact Margo Gamache, Honors Program Director of Student Services.
The application deadline is May 1, 2021, and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Click here to complete the Roo Honors Academy application.
To view the Roo Honors Academy video, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba2F572uUO8
