Research and Creative Practice Archives - School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences /ias/news/category/research-and-creative-practice Just another 56łÔąĎÍř Bothell site Thu, 21 Aug 2025 23:54:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 Adam Romero receives Royalty Research Fund Award for his new book project /ias/news/2025/08/21/adam-romero-receives-royalty-research-fund-award-for-his-new-book-project Thu, 21 Aug 2025 23:35:22 +0000 /ias/?p=33006 Adam Romero received a Royalty Research Fund Award for his new book project Industrial Chemicals and the Problem of Too Much Food. The book examines the relationship between the massive growth of industrial farm chemicals after 1945 and the chronic problem of vast agricultural surpluses. It begins with a simple question: why did American farmers...

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Adam Romero received a Royalty Research Fund Award for his new book project Industrial Chemicals and the Problem of Too Much Food. The book examines the relationship between the massive growth of industrial farm chemicals after 1945 and the chronic problem of vast agricultural surpluses. It begins with a simple question: why did American farmers use so many industrial chemicals in the post-WWII period? Stay tuned. Find out.

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Jennifer Atkinson Talks Climate at San Francisco Public Library /ias/news/2025/08/05/jennifer-atkinson-talks-climate-at-san-francisco-public-library Tue, 05 Aug 2025 21:11:07 +0000 /ias/?p=32893 Jennifer Atkinson gave a book talk at San Francisco Public Library as part of July’s Everybody’s Climate series, a program meant to inspire participants to take action for a more just and sustainable future. In her talk, Grief & Hope in a Burning World: Strategies for Climate Resilience Atkinson discussed how addressing climate challenges requires...

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Jennifer Atkinson gave a book talk at San Francisco Public Library as part of July’s series, a program meant to inspire participants to take action for a more just and sustainable future.

In her talk, e Atkinson discussed how addressing climate challenges requires more than new technology and better policy: we also need the internal resources to navigate an increasingly chaotic world and stay engaged in solutions without burning out. Her talk drew resources from her book, to offer strategies for coping with the emotional toll of our warming world — fear, anger, hopelessness and grief — while channeling those emotions toward meaningful change.

Two images side by side. One is a picture of Jennifer Atkinson and the other is the cover of her book.

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IAS faculty Shannon Cram is a Visiting Writer at Eastern Oregon University /ias/news/2025/08/05/ias-faculty-shannon-cram-is-a-visiting-writer-at-eastern-oregon-university Tue, 05 Aug 2025 20:52:11 +0000 /ias/?p=32881 IAS professor Shannon Cram served as a visiting writer at Eastern Oregon University’s New Nature Writing Conference, a project of the school’s MFA program in Creative Writing. In addition to a public reading and discussion about her recent book, Cram taught a class for MFA students called Writing the Body.

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IAS professor Shannon Cram served as a visiting writer at Eastern Oregon University’s , a project of the school’s MFA program in Creative Writing. In addition to a public reading and discussion about her recent book, Cram taught a class for MFA students called Writing the Body.

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“Project Aurora” Panel Discussion with Ginny Ruffner, Ed Fries, and Wanda Gregory, Thursday, May 23rd /ias/news/2024/05/23/project-aurora-panel-discussion-with-ginny-ruffner-ed-fries-and-wanda-gregory-thursday-may-23rd Thu, 23 May 2024 20:16:07 +0000 /ias/?p=31216 Learn about the making of Project Aurora from the creators—artist Ginny Ruffner, technologist Ed Fries, and scholar Wanda Gregory—in a panel discussion moderated by Chief Curator, Leslie Anderson. This program celebrates the National Nordic Museum’s acquisition of this important work of art. Learn about the making of Project Aurora from the creators—artist Ginny Ruffner, technologist...

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Learn about the making of Project Aurora from the creators—artist Ginny Ruffner, technologist Ed Fries, and scholar Wanda Gregory—in a panel discussion moderated by Chief Curator, Leslie Anderson. This program celebrates the National Nordic Museum’s acquisition of this important work of art. from the creators—artist Ginny Ruffner, technologist Ed Fries, and scholar Wanda Gregory—in a panel discussion moderated by Chief Curator, Leslie Anderson. This program celebrates the National Nordic Museum’s acquisition of this important work of art.

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Jennifer Atkinson Gives Author Talk for California State University Faculty /ias/news/2024/05/02/jennifer-atkinson-gives-author-talk-for-california-state-university-faculty Thu, 02 May 2024 22:36:18 +0000 /ias/?p=31122 Jennifer Atkinson gave an author talk at CSU to launch her new book, The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators: How to Teach in a Burning World. The talk was live-streamed for all 22 campuses of the California State University System, and is now available to view on YouTube. Atkinson co-edited the book with Dr....

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Jennifer Atkinson gave an author talk at CSU to launch her new book, . The talk was live-streamed for all 22 campuses of the California State University System, and is now available to .

Atkinson co-edited the book with Dr. Sarah Ray, an environmental studies professor at Cal Poly Humboldt and author of .

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Jennifer Atkinson gives keynote talk at OSU on Collective Climate Action /ias/news/2024/04/23/jennifer-atkinson-gives-keynote-talk-at-osu-on-collective-climate-action Tue, 23 Apr 2024 17:51:59 +0000 /ias/?p=31092 Jennifer Atkinson gave a keynote talk for the new series on “Collective Climate Action: Inspired Organizing for Our Future” as part of Oregon State University’s Spring Creek Project. The Collective Climate series was launched to bring together the practical wisdom of environmental science, the clarity of philosophy, and the transformational power of the written word...

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Jennifer Atkinson gave a for the new series on “Collective Climate Action: Inspired Organizing for Our Future” as part of Oregon State University’s . The Collective Climate series was launched to bring together the practical wisdom of environmental science, the clarity of philosophy, and the transformational power of the written word and the arts to envision and inspire just and joyous relations with the planet and with one another.

In her keynote lecture, Atkinson highlighted ways that anxiety and despair are rising along with global temperatures. To successfully face the challenges ahead, she argued, we need to build more than solar panels and sea walls: we also need to build the emotional resilience to stay engaged in climate work over the long haul. Her talk offered five key steps for navigating the psychological and emotional impacts of climate change while channeling our anxiety into collective efforts to create a livable future.

The lecture is available on and also as a with the Collective Climate Action series.

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Kari Lerum publishes two essays in The Sage Encyclopedia of LGBTQ+ Studies /ias/news/2024/04/17/kari-lerum-publishes-two-essays-in-the-sage-encyclopedia-of-lgbtq-studies Wed, 17 Apr 2024 20:47:38 +0000 /ias/?p=31070 Associate Professor Kari Lerum recently published two essays in the second edition of The Sage Encyclopedia of LGBTQ+ Studies. The first essay, “Sex work and Criminalization,” is a revised and updated version of Lerum’s essay by the same name appearing in the 2016 The Sage Encyclopedia of LGBTQ+ Studies. The essay defines sex work within...

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Associate Professor Kari Lerum recently published two essays in the second edition of

The first essay, “Sex work and Criminalization,” is a revised and updated version of Lerum’s essay by the same name appearing in the 2016 The Sage Encyclopedia of LGBTQ+ Studies. The essay defines sex work within the context of sexual regulation and criminalization, examines LGBTQ+ participation in sex work, and discusses how contemporary LGBTQ+ sex worker activists are both partnering with human rights and global health experts and finding connections with movements for anti-racist and anti-carceral social transformation.

The second essay, “Trafficking in the Sex Trades,” summarizes the politics of defining human trafficking, discusses the connection between invalid and unreliable definitions with carceral anti-trafficking policies, and highlights how LGBTQIA+ individuals may be impacted by these carceral approaches.

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A Call for Global Cultural Change to Shift Civilization and Save the Planet /ias/news/2024/04/03/a-call-for-global-cultural-change-to-shift-civilization-and-save-the-planet Wed, 03 Apr 2024 17:56:25 +0000 /ias/?p=31004 In a review published April 2, 2024, University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist Charles Fletcher, 56łÔąĎÍřB professor Phoebe Barnard and a team of eminent western and indigenous scientists, historians, futurists, and other global colleagues consider the causes of and solutions to multiple converging and interwoven crises on Earth, including climate change, ecological destruction, disease, pollution, and...

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In a review published April 2, 2024, University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist Charles Fletcher, 56łÔąĎÍřB professor Phoebe Barnard and a team of eminent western and indigenous scientists, historians, futurists, and other global colleagues consider the causes of and solutions to multiple converging and interwoven crises on Earth, including climate change, ecological destruction, disease, pollution, and socio-economic inequality.

published in the American Association for the Advancement of Science Journal PNAS Nexus, summarizes the grave threats facing the planet but rejects a “doom and gloom” philosophy. Instead, the authors argue, the threats should motivate swift and substantial actions to shift civilization. According to the authors, industrial capitalism and its focus on wealth and profit rather than true sustainability and healthy relationships with the planet and with each other are major impediments to decarbonization, conserving natural resources, and ensuring social equity. Therefore, the authors argue, governments should enforce radical, immediate cuts in fossil fuel use, eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies, and restrict trade that generates pollution or unsustainable consumption.

Following Indigenous principles of land management, the authors argue, governments must build a new era of reciprocity and kinship with nature and decouple economic activity from net resource depletion. According to the authors, it is critical to support gender justice by supporting women’s and girls’ education and rights, which reduces fertility rates and raises the standard of living. The authors call for a global cultural shift in values, aided by education, robust policy, economic incentives, cross-sector partnerships, community empowerment, corporate accountability, technological innovation, leadership, and cultural narratives delivered through art and media.

According to the authors, humanity must stop treating its major crises as isolated challenges, and instead establish a systemic response based on kinship with nature that recognizes our metacrisis as multiple symptoms of ecological overshoot, and recognizes Earth as our lifeboat in the cosmic sea of space.

Diagram from a slide presentation. The diagram visualizes the global population growth, imperialism, and an economic model based on extractive rules of exploitation
Diagram from a slide presentation. The diagram visualizes new records set in 2m surface temperature
Diagram from a slide presentation. The diagram visualizes global GHG emissions and temperature rise
Diagram from a slide presentation. The diagram visualizes the historical context of imperialism, population growth, and an extractive relationship with nature

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Jennifer Atkinson Leads Climate Workshop for 200 Faculty at California State University /ias/news/2024/03/21/jennifer-atkinson-leads-climate-workshop-for-200-faculty-at-california-state-university Thu, 21 Mar 2024 23:56:38 +0000 /ias/?p=30982 IAS faculty member Jennifer Atkinson worked with climate author Sarah Jaquette Ray to train over 200 faculty on how to center emotion in climate education. The sessions took place in March 2024, with faculty from across the California State University (CSU) system attending. The workshops are part of CSU’s Teaching Climate Change and Resilience Faculty...

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IAS faculty member Jennifer Atkinson worked with climate author Sarah Jaquette Ray to train over 200 faculty on how to center emotion in climate education. The sessions took place in March 2024, with faculty from across the California State University (CSU) system attending.

The workshops are part of CSU’s Faculty Learning Community, which helps instructors incorporate climate change and resilience into their teaching. The series features leading experts in climate science, climate communications and policy. In addition to the most recent workshop facilitated by Atkinson and Ray, sessions have been led by the following experts:

  • Dr. Britt Wray, Director of CIRCLE at Stanford University.
  • Dr. Elizabeth Bagley of Project Drawdown, an interdisciplinary environmental scientist with experience spanning academia, business, and the nonprofit sector.
  • Katherine Noble, the Climate Manager of Solutions Journalism Network.
  • Matt Scott, director of storytelling and engagement for Project Drawdown, and other national leaders in climate education, research and activism.

To learn more about centering emotion in climate education and climate communication, visit , or read her new book , forthcoming May 2024 with University of California Press.

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Wanda Gregory collaborates on Project Aurora, now on display at the National Nordic Museum /ias/news/2024/03/14/wanda-gregory-collaborates-on-project-aurora-now-on-display-at-the-national-nordic-museum Thu, 14 Mar 2024 22:13:13 +0000 /ias/?p=30924 Project Aurora, a collaborative effort by IAS faculty member Wanda Gregory, renowned glass artist Ginny Ruffner, and Ed Fries, former head of Microsoft Xbox, is currently on display at the National Nordic Museum until June 2024. Inspired by Iceland’s northern lights, Project Aurora is a 20-foot light installation that utilizes AI programming.

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Project Aurora, a collaborative effort by IAS faculty member Wanda Gregory, renowned glass artist Ginny Ruffner, and Ed Fries, former head of Microsoft Xbox, is currently on display at the National Nordic Museum until June 2024. Inspired by Iceland’s northern lights, Project Aurora is a 20-foot light installation that utilizes AI programming.

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