Transdisciplinary Research
Many of the challenges facing society cannot be successfully addressed by individual academic disciplines alone. Each of these transdisciplinary research projects, including concrete media outcomes, exemplify the value of working across disciplines to ask the critical questions that can lead to real answers.
Defending Democracy
In this time of question and doubt, Defending Democracy is an effort to spotlight the kinds of attacks Americans have experienced and witnessed and the variety of ways Americans have pushed back against anti-democratic forces in their everyday lives. The Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, The Melikian Center: Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies, Narrative Storytelling Initiative and Center for Work and Democracy at Arizona State University seek the submission of personal experiences from people in Arizona and across the United States who have witnessed an attack of some kind, or an effort to defend democracy, in their community.
Confronting Authoritarianism
This essay project is a collaboration between the NSI and the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, The Melikian Center and the Center for Jewish Studies. The faculty-led research and writing seeks to uncover and share lessons from the past and present, in which active and engaged citizens have challenged, resisted or reversed autocratic pursuits.
Apocalyptic Thinking and Climate Change
A two-year research-and-writing project meant to rethink how climate change stories are told and explore their potential to drive social and cultural change. The project was conducted through a multidisciplinary class titled “Climate Narratives, Apocalypse and Social Change,” developed with the support of a Luce Foundation/ACLS-funded grant and taught by ASU professors Steven Beschloss and Sarah Viren. Read more in Times Higher Education “Scholars Need to Act with Greater Urgency”.
Measuring Narrative Engagment
Critical work in climate communications in a time of increasing urgency and disruption—work that will help understand the thinking and motivations of multiple audiences and drive positive change through education and advocacy—needs to focus on measuring narrative impact. This assumption assumes the current tools are not effective and it’s necessary to identify the storytelling approaches and methods that can meaningfully and substantially resonate with readers, viewers and listeners.