In his latest book of poetry, Walks Along the Ditch, Bill Tremblay (CSU Professor of English, 1973 to 2006) introduces us to the flow that has long provided a cadence to his life: poetry, water, t’ai chi. The poems walk us along the ditch with the poet: the water, the familiar Mountain West geography, the “smell of money” from Greeley, the morning song of meadowlarks.
What can a historian do in response to life-threatening flooding like we’ve seen in Northern Colorado? Quite a lot it turns out. By documenting the communication, cooperation, and activity of disaster responders, historians capture the knowledge and information-sharing process that is so crucial to future response and recovery.
Water lies at the heart of what it means to be human and what it means to flourish in our own place in the world. From a philosophical and ethical perspective, our particular understandings and interpretations of water reveal our sense of identity (the who), our sense of place (the where), and our meaning and purpose in the world (the why).
From scarcity and drought, to equitable distribution across a growing population, to contamination from mining and other extractive industries, water in Colorado is the nexus for interdisciplinary research that fulfills CSU’s land grant mission.
Water equity is one of the 21st century’s key environmental justice issues. Sociologists work directly with water stakeholders, including farmers, engineers, urban developers, conservationists, lawmakers, and more to bridge communication gaps and ensure that legal, economic and social barriers are considered when policies and collaborative efforts are designed and implemented.
When a disaster threatens, how do people decide whether to stay or to evacuate? To rebuild or relocate? How to restore their lives? Prof. Kate Browne’s work with survivors of Hurricane Harvey explores the decisions people make using a novel “assemblage” technique.
Rising sports photographer and Colorado State University alumna Abbie Parr (’17, communication studies) hit the equivalent of a home run in photography by earning a spot in TIME’s “Top 100 Photos of 2018.”
Michelle Stanley recently started her role as Director of the LEAP Institute for the Arts, but arts advocacy and music have always been a passion of hers.
Ryan Scott has been interested in the environment from an early age, and is now an expert in environmental policy in the Department of Political Science.
During the Great Conversations 2018 Season Kickoff, three College of Liberal Arts faculty had a conversation with community members about how rigor and imagination can be used as robust tools for uniting a polarized society and shaping the future of our world.