Projects 

Student Work

Keeping Watch
By Michael Decker '21

Keeping Watch is a geo-spatial narrative project that embeds oral history testimonies by former and current fire lookouts on a GIS interface. These stories were collected by Jack Kredell, Chris Lamb, and Michael Decker in the Summer of 2021 across the state of Idaho.

Storying Extinction: Responding to the Loss of North Idaho's Mountain Caribou
By Chris Lamb '21 and Jack Kredell '21

Storying Extinction: Responding to the Loss of North Idaho’s Mountain Caribou is a multidisciplinary digital humanities project that represents community response to the recent extirpation (2019) of southern mountain caribou from the South Selkirk mountains of North Idaho—the last caribou to inhabit the coterminous United States.

Faculty Work

Memorials Matter: Emotion, Environment and Public Memory at American Historical Sites
By Dr. Jennifer Ladino

In Memorials Matter, University of Idaho English Professor Jennifer Ladino investigates the natural and physical environments of seven diverse National Park Service (NPS) sites in the American West and how they influence emotions about historical conflict and national identity. 

Narrative in the Anthropocene
By Dr. Erin James

In Narrative in the Anthropocene, University of Idaho English Professor Erin James poses two complementary questions: What can narrative teach us about our current geological epoch, defined and marked by the irrevocable activity of humans on the Earth’s geology and ecosystems? and What can our current geological epoch teach us about narrative? 

Turpin's Whitman Discovery -  I can't find the link, we should ask him what he wants here
By Dr. Zachary Turpin

Student-Faculty Collaborations

The Confluence Lab

Many English Graduate students intern with the Confluence Lab, which is co-directed by Dr. Erin James and Dr. Jennifer Ladino. The Confluence Lab engages in creative interdisciplinary research projects that bring together scholars in the arts, humanities, and sciences, together with community members, to engage in environmental issues impacting rural communities.

Beyond the Lab Coat: Creative Writing Crafted from Science

This collaboration with Idaho INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research and Excellence) and graduate students of CLASS resulted in a Fall 2024 publication of a science communication magazine featuring a preface and poems by Megan Lolley, artwork, comics, and poetry by Austin R. Eldridge, a short story by Anna Griffin, poetry by Tom Hersey, all inspired and in collaboration with undergraduate biomedical students and their exciting research.

This project was made possible by leadership of Angel Shears of Idaho INBRE, the Confluence Lab, and Megan Lolley who managed organized and edited the publication.

Pakicetus

This collaboration with game developers at Polymorphic games, Faculty leaders of the Geology department, and writers from CLASS, Pakicetus, now Pakicetus Redux is a interdisciplinary video-game project showcasing the power and fun of gaming in educational driven narratives. Play this exciting submarine "shoot-em-up" and learn about the geologic composition of the ocean floor.

"Enjoy a window into marine geology of the deep-sea in this rogue-lite exploration game. Geologic events, seafloor shape, and in-game resources are all based on scientific data. As captain of the Salvation, you must balance resource collection, system upgrades, and a dwindling food supply as you battle against an unknown enemy bent on stopping your search for a new home (Polymorphic Games)."

Project Members: Dr. Eric Mittelstaedt, Dylan Foster (NEED MORE information)