Arduino controlled LED fixtures.

Spring 2019 Course: Curating Stories and Science in Northern Arizona (taught by Daniel Collins)

In the seminar Curating Stories and Science in Northern Arizona, students worked individually and collectively to create a “research compendium” inspired by James Turrell’s Roden Crater. Marked by the intersection of science and art, our discussions included experts from astrophysics, literature, sacred architecture, natural history, cultural geography, Native American studies, perceptual psychology, phenomenology, archaeology, and fine art.  Students generated a rich collection of works representing many disciplines and methodological approaches.  Roden Crater has become a launching pad for our own embodied experience of place—from the microscopic features of the Arizona landscape to interstellar space.

Spring 2019 Course: Art and Sensory Acuity (taught by Christine Lee)

For the course Art and Sensory Acuity, we looked at how our perception and ability to experience a range of sensation can inform the creation of artistic and design based work. We explored perception through the lens of artist James Turrell’s Roden Crater, under which specific materials, environment, and conditions present, shaped our sensory experience. Concurrently we expanded our sensory acuity through engagement with guest speakers ASU Assoc. Professor Patrick Young and Assist. Professor Christy Spackman, Ed Krupp Director of Griffith Observatory, and writer Lawrence Weschler, to develop a deeper sensibility across media, time and space. The resulting sculptural forms/prototypes, performance, and installations were designed and constructed in response to the collective experience.

Mixed media.

Spring 2019 Course: Indigenous Stories and Sky Science (taught by Wanda Dalla Costa)

Roden Crater is situated in the territorial homelands of at least eight Arizona tribes. To honor local history and the continued practice of Indigenous sky science in the southwest, the field lab Indigenous Stories and Sky Science will view the Crater through the lens of Indigeneity. The students, who went on a five-day journey to Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe, meeting locals, interacting with place and touring sites of sky observation, shared their experience using the four knowledges of community resilience: empirical, traditional, revealed and contemporary (From Johnson, et al. (2015). Weaving Indigenous and sustainability sciences to diversify our methods).

Mixed media.

Spring 2019 Course: Indigenous Stories and Sky Science (taught by Wanda Dalla Costa)

Roden Crater is situated in the territorial homelands of at least eight Arizona tribes. To honor local history and the continued practice of Indigenous sky science in the southwest, the field lab Indigenous Stories and Sky Science will view the Crater through the lens of Indigeneity. The students, who went on a five-day journey to Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe, meeting locals, interacting with place and touring sites of sky observation, shared their experience using the four knowledges of community resilience: empirical, traditional, revealed and contemporary (From Johnson, et al. (2015). Weaving Indigenous and sustainability sciences to diversify our methods).

Collected fallen palo verde blossoms.

Spring 2019 Course: Art and Sensory Acuity (taught by Christine Lee)

For the course Art and Sensory Acuity, we looked at how our perception and ability to experience a range of sensation can inform the creation of artistic and design based work. We explored perception through the lens of artist James Turrell’s Roden Crater, under which specific materials, environment, and conditions present, shaped our sensory experience. Concurrently we expanded our sensory acuity through engagement with guest speakers ASU Assoc. Professor Patrick Young and Assist. Professor Christy Spackman, Ed Krupp Director of Griffith Observatory, and writer Lawrence Weschler, to develop a deeper sensibility across media, time and space. The resulting sculptural forms/prototypes, performance, and installations were designed and constructed in response to the collective experience.

Spring 2019 Course: Indigenous Stories and Sky Science (taught by Wanda Dalla Costa)

Roden Crater is situated in the territorial homelands of at least eight Arizona tribes. To honor local history and the continued practice of Indigenous sky science in the southwest, the field lab Indigenous Stories and Sky Science will view the Crater through the lens of Indigeneity. The students, who went on a five-day journey to Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe, meeting locals, interacting with place and touring sites of sky observation, shared their experience using the four knowledges of community resilience: empirical, traditional, revealed and contemporary (From Johnson, et al. (2015). Weaving Indigenous and sustainability sciences to diversify our methods).

Arizona State University (ASU) is known for both enormous size and scale, as well as excellence in research and innovation. These attributes are embodied in the ideal of the “New American University.” ASU Library, as a partner in the New American University, has reorganized itself, completed a large-scale renovation of its main library building, and created interdisciplinary divisions of librarians and other professionals, backed up by subject “knowledge teams” that address specific research needs of faculty and students. As a result, the library has become involved in nontraditional projects across the university. This article is useful for libraries seeking to remain relevant and align themselves with institutional priorities.