Upcoming Labs
Design for the Planet
Students will explore how design shapes the environmental and social systems around us and question why we create so many unnecessary things. Examining industries from fashion to healthcare, they investigate resource extraction, labor practices, and cycles of waste and pollution. Working collaboratively, students develop experiential projects and propose sustainable, systems-level solutions that create meaningful civic impact.
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Fall 2026
Dramatizing Democracy
Students will explore how persuasion, storytelling, and performance shape civic life and public trust. From protest speeches and presidential debates to powerful scenes in theatre, they examine how rhetoric can inspire, divide, or blur the line between fact and fiction. Working collaboratively, students conduct interdisciplinary research and create public-facing projects such as performances, community dialogues, or media tools that connect creative inquiry with civic action.
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Ethics of Ownership?
Students will explore what it means to own something and question what should or should not be considered ownable. Through real-world cases, from gene patents and creative works to water rights and nonhuman beings, they examine the ethical consequences of ownership and consider whether it protects or exploits. Working collaboratively, students conduct stakeholder interviews and develop a research-based project that contributes to the public good.
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Humanizing Our Digital Futures
Students will explore what it means to be human in a world shaped by algorithms, data, and artificial intelligence. Examining how digital technologies influence identity, creativity, and community, they consider how innovation can foster more ethical and equitable futures. Working collaboratively, students design research-based proposals or prototypes that address real-world challenges while keeping human experience at the center.
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Mitigating Wildlife Conflicts
Students will explore how humans and wildlife can share land more sustainably, focusing on Arizona case studies such as the reintroduction of Mexican gray wolves. Through collaborative, transdisciplinary research that includes fieldwork, policy analysis, and ecological storytelling, they examine ecological, cultural, and ethical tensions. Working in teams, students design public-facing interventions that address competing values and reimagine coexistence between people, other species, and the landscapes they share.
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Migration, Art and Places
Students will explore migration to the United States and Western Europe, examining the forces that shape human movement and the ways communities respond. Focusing on cultural expression, belonging, and contemporary challenges, the lab engages Phoenix as one case study among others. Through discussion, fieldwork, and creative inquiry, students think critically, engage diverse perspectives, and cultivate compassionate civic understanding.
View more information HERE.
Current Labs
Accessible Urban Farming
Students will explore issues of accessibility, equity, and inclusion in local food systems through hands-on work with urban farms and school gardens. Engage directly with farmers and community partners to understand how access to fresh, healthy food shapes quality of life. Participants will design projects that promote awareness and foster more equitable, sustainable food communities.
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Spring 2026
Global AZ: Development Futures
Examine how global development challenges connect to Arizona and local communities. Guided by interdisciplinary experts, students engage with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and design collaborative projects that link global concerns to local action. The course culminates in public-facing outcomes that promote wellbeing and shared prosperity.
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Humanizing Digital Culture
This Humanities Lab explores how digital culture shapes human identity and our relationship with technology. Students will investigate digital identity, empathy, and real-world impacts while developing strategies to humanize digital technologies.
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Harnessing AI for Good?
Explore how artificial intelligence is shaping healthcare, criminal justice, and education while raising urgent ethical and policy questions. This course invites students to critically examine AI’s foundations, assess its societal impact, and collaboratively design frameworks for a more just and ethical future.
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Intro to Interdisciplinary Research
Students in this Lab will learn about interdisciplinary research, develop skills of collaboration, learn helpful research tools, exercise creative problem solving skills, and develop a team inquiry project focused on complex social challenges.
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Seeking Truth: Misinformation
From ancient to modern times, false narratives persist, though today they are amplified by the digital era and its numerous tools (ex. AI) and platforms (ex. TikTok). This surge has profound global to local repercussions, impacting media, politics, science, and economics while eroding trust in institutions, between communities, and affecting individual behaviors.
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