Emily Hayes-Rich
Emily Hayes-Rich is a graduate student in Public Archaeology at UNM and received a Fulbright Research Award to Morocco. Her research focus is on the khettara-traditional irrigation system. She hopes to be able to demonstrate the importance of traditional knowledge as a way of mitigating the effects of climate change in rural arid and semi-arid communities around the world.
This proposed project will use a combination of historical and anthropological techniques coupled with a Geographic Information System’s (GIS) analysis to help provide a holistic understanding of both urban and rural khettara systems in Morocco. Her project will take place in the Tafilalt oasis town of Rissani and the city of Marrakech, both of which thrived under the use of the khettara. In Morocco, she will be working with Jamila Bargach at the non-profit organization Dar Si Hmad and John Shoup at the Al Akhawayn University of Ifrane. Her faculty mentors include Frances Hayashida of University of New Mexico and Dale Lightfoot of the University of Oklahoma.
Brooke Barrera Sheldon
Bro
oke Barrera Sheldon graduated in 2018 from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor’s in international studies and foreign languages. Prior to beginning at UNM, she spent her senior year of high school in Brazil as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student, which fostered an interest in Portuguese and other romance languages. While at UNM, she gained a strong foundation in Portuguese by taking classes in the internationally recognized Spanish & Portuguese Department. Along the way, she took advantage of various long-term exchange programs through UNM’s GEO and International Studies Institute in Quebec, Morocco, and Senegal. Shortly after graduating from UNM, she obtained her master’s degree in global studies from Columbia University in 2020, where she researched the social phenomenon of Brazilians converting to Islam.
By participating in this Fulbright program, Sheldon hopes to strengthen her understanding of Portuguese dialects and learn about the histories that influence and affect the rest of the Lusophone world. She looks forward to the experience and representing UNM abroad.