In keeping with our departmental mission and the public and applied humanities generally, our students and faculty are actively engaged with communities and organizations on projects intended to improve the human condition. Below are highlights of some of our current and past community partnerships.
Want to partner with us? Contact Murielle Coste.
Iskashitaa Refugee Network
Iskashitaa Refugee Network creates opportunities to integrate United Nations refugees into the Southern Arizona community while educating the public, strengthening the local food system, reducing local food waste, and increasing food security. Classes like PAH 201 Applied Humanities Practice: Techniques and Technologies for Public Enrichment partner with Iskashitaa on projects to document the history and communicate the story of the organization and the refugees it serves while also cultivating students' public humanities research and intercultural communication skills.
Pima County Food Alliance
The Pima County Food Alliance (PCFA) is Pima County’s food policy council and works to address food system-related issues and needs through a combination of policy, advocacy, community building, education, and outreach. Classes like PAH 201 Applied Humanities Practice: Techniques and Technologies for Public Enrichment partner with PCFA on projects to improve access to knowledge about food access resources in the Tucson area, amplify the stories of those who are working for change in the food system, and foster increased connections among food system stakeholders.
World Pulse
World Pulse is a social impact network connecting women and allies from 200+ countries and territories for change. PAH faculty member Dr. Jasmine R. Linabary has collaborated with World Pulse in various capacities for more than a decade, including most recently through the work of her research team, the Co-Design Collaborative, on a project related to the #ShiftThePower movement in the international development sector.
Drag Story Hour
Drag Story Hour celebrates reading through the glamorous art of drag. As a national network, DSH envisions a world where kids can learn from LGBTQ+ stories and experiences to love themselves, celebrate the fabulous diversity in their communities, and stand up for what they believe in and each other.
PAH faculty member Harris Kornstein serves on the board of Drag Story Hour and has performed as a storyteller across the US; they have also published scholarship on "drag pedagogy" as well as picture books and other children's media, and have supported PAH and UofA students in internships with DSH and its local chapter Drag Story Hour Arizona.
Beads of Courage
Beads of Courage (BoC) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children and teens coping with serious illness, their families, and the clinicians who care for them through our Arts-in-Medicine Programs. We believe in creating a context for caring transactions to transpire through our community and encouragement programs. Classes like PAH 420 partner with BoC to (a) provide students with opportunities to richly and rigorously explore value-driven branding and public awareness strategies for nonprofit and community-based organizations, and (b) create and disseminate to community organizations innovative approaches to community storytelling and public branding.
Startup Tucson
Startup Tucson is a non-profit organization that provides free or low-cost services to Southern Arizona entrepreneurs and innovators. Classes like PAH 420 partner with Startup Tucson to (a) provide students with opportunities to gain professional mentoring in areas of community innovation and entrepreneurship and (b) enhances the scope of impact and mission delivery of Startup Tucson.
Arizona Media Arts Center
For over three decades, the Arizona Media Arts Center (AzMAC) has offered Arizona communities multicultural programs fostering the appreciation, production, and understanding of independent media expression. In alignment with that mission, AzMAC launched the Arizona International Film Festival in 1990. Still active today, the festival draws filmmakers and audiences from all over the world to experience a comprehensive assemblage of riveting topics and themes. PAH faculty members Ken McAllister and Judd Ruggill have collaborated with AzMAC for more than 20 years, most recently on the Arizona Media Arts Center Archive.