
Applied Theory
About
The Applied Theory initiative attempts to intervene on our understanding of Theory as a highly specialized and purely contemplative activity that remains separate from practice. Instead, the initiative takes inspiration from the pre-Socratic notion of theoria as a cultural journey that is both political and sacred. Exploring the various ways that theory shows up in the world, the Applied Theory initiative examines various forms of knowledge production and seeks to reconnect the theoretical humanities to the communities that they hope to serve. The initiative is particularly invested in experimenting with the ways in which theory is lived and embodied through a myriad of material practices (in activism, agriculture, art, craft, ritual, etc.) and thus circulates outside the formal spaces of the academy.
Built-environment Institute for Applied Studies in Africa and the Middle East
BIAS-AME is a continuing education institute that focuses on the Built Environment in Africa and the Middle East. Moving away from siloed educational models, it aims to reorient the pedagogical approach towards an interdisciplinary learning model that addresses historic and precarious urban landscapes, climate change, and spatial justice. It provides participants with both theoretical tools and practical skills to engage with the diverse challenges of on-ground problems. This multi-model pedagogical system deploys critical thinking, applied education, networking, capacity building, and creative forms of partnerships with other entities and institutions.
Events
Stay tuned for more events coming soon!
Projects
Initiative Director

Stacey Moran is Assistant Professor in the School of Arts, Media and Engineering and the Department of English at Arizona State University. Her work lies at the intersections of feminist theory and technoscience, design studies, and critical pedagogy. Moran has published articles on the critical studies of feminism and technology, technoscience and design, and the rhetorics of materialist philosophy, and is the author of "The Stranger Within: Barad Beyond Barad" (forthcoming). Moran is a member of the Center for Philosophical Technologies, directs a design summer school in the Netherlands, and collaborates with the School of Materialist Research. She also maintains a creative practice that examines the relation between design, mythology and material practices.