Public and Applied Humanities: Recalibrating, Renewing, and Relocating Humanities Thinking and Doing

Public and Applied Humanities offers a timely account of how the humanities can act in the world. Written from the perspective of faculty who built the first Department of Public & Applied Humanities in the United States, the book explores how humanities knowledge can be translated into public-facing, use-oriented, and institutionally viable forms.

The book examines the braided field of the public and applied humanities as both an intellectual orientation and a practical higher education structure. It asks what the public and applied humanities are and how they connect traditional humanities inquiry to community life, public needs, and professional practice. It then turns to curricula, showing how undergraduate programs can prepare students to work across disciplines, communicate with publics, and apply humanities skills in fields such as health, business, sustainability, design, and public service. Later chapters consider how public and applied humanities research expands evidentiary variety, knowledge-making participation, and scholarly output. The book also addresses student care, career readiness, and the institutional challenges of making new humanities programs sustainable and legible.

This book is an essential resource for anyone working within the public humanities or wanting to make their work public and engage with wider communities.

Judd Ethan Ruggill is Professor in the Department of Public & Applied Humanities and Associate Dean of Academic Services in the Graduate College at the University of Arizona. His books include Inside the Video Game Industry: Game Developers Talk About the Business of Play (2017; with Ken S. McAllister, Randy Nichols, and Ryan Kaufman).

Ken S. McAllister is Professor in the Department of Public & Applied Humanities and Associate Dean for Research and Program Innovation in the College of Humanities at the University of Arizona. Co-founder and co-director of the Learning Games Initiative, McAllister has published numerous books and articles on topics ranging from game preservation to critical technology studies.

Suzanne Panferov Reese is Specialist in the Department of Public & Applied Humanities and Director of the Critical Languages Program at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on language program administration, professional development, teacher training, pedagogy, and literacy acquisition.

Stephanie K. Springer is Director of Internships and Career Readiness and Principal Lecturer in the Department of Public & Applied Humanities at the University of Arizona. Through humanities-informed career discovery, Stephanie helps students translate their academic and co-curricular experiences into meaningful professional direction, strengthening their confidence, purpose, and ability to navigate diverse career paths.

Jonathan Jae-an Crisman is Associate Professor in the Department of Public & Applied Humanities at the University of Arizona. He is the co-author of Urban Humanities: New Practices for Reimagining the City (2020; with Dana Cuff, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Todd Presner, and Maite Zubiaurre).

Josh Zimmerman is Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Public & Applied Humanities at the University of Arizona. His research interests include developer-fan discourses in the computer game industry, online community building, and the complex relationship between play and work in digital media industries.

Reneé H. Reynolds is Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Public & Applied Humanities at the University of Arizona. She is a scholar of comic books, who focuses on the rhetorical history of media panics that have affected comics-like forms since their inception.

Brittney N. Crawford is Associate Director of Internships and Career Readiness and Lecturer in the Department of Public & Applied Humanities at the University of Arizona.

Jasmine R. Linabary is Associate Professor in the Department of Public & Applied Humanities at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on organizing for social change, new media, and feminist and participatory methodologies.

Matthew M. Mars is Professor and Head in the Department of Public & Applied Humanities at the University of Arizona. His research focuses on community innovation and the influence of market narratives on everyday life and routines.