Desert Humanities Initiative
Our mission
Desert spaces have long nourished artistic and humanistic work, but also distinctive possibilities for the flourishing of life in the past, present, and future. The Desert Humanities Initiative fosters both of these dimensions by (1.) Supporting work that analyzes, critiques, and transforms our relationships to deserts and is in service to the communities who inhabit them, and (2.) Providing opportunities to immerse in urban and rural desert sites in order to engage their textured histories, diverse ecologies, and possible futures.
2023-2024 Desert Humanities Annual Report
Our Directors
Jason Bruner
A professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, Jason Bruner is an ethnographer, writer, and historian studying Christians and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa and the United States. He is especially interested in lived religion, health, violence, and globalization. His work also incorporates photography and creative nonfiction. He recently published a multi-modal creative and documentary project on the metro-Phoenix area titled "Life in the Valley" (is Press, 2024).
Erika Lynne Hanson
A Program Director and Associate Professor in the School of Art, Erika Lynne Hanson is an interdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator whose work is rooted in textile practices that actively engage with various sites and their inhabitants. Her work has been exhibited at spaces that range from Form + Concept in Santa Fe, to Field Projects in NYC, to the Tucson Museum of Art. Additionally, Hanson has participated in residency programs across the US and Scandinavia, with particular attention to rural locations that support the ongoing dialogue regarding posthuman ecologies within her practice.