November 16, 2024
In this generative workshop, participants were able to try out methods from the Desert Writing Lab, an interdisciplinary and experimental writing workshop made to come together and write in the midst of the climate catastrophe.
After we all check in, we spent some time freewriting on one of the core Desert Writing Lab prompts, exploring what data a place has about us. We talked about maps, and their possibilities, how they can be a guide to a place, a story about data, and thought of abstract and literal examples of maps. Then, we got out the glue sticks, collage materials, and markers, and participants created their own maps–with emotional, narrative, theoretical, and physical landmarks. We then spent time sharing our creations and process in the map-making experience and discussed its connections to how we experience climate catastrophe.
Halima Salah (she/her): I am a Somali-Canadian Civil Engineering PhD candidate based in Michigan. In 2022/2023, I served as the Ralph Cicerone Fellow in Earth System Science Modeling at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the Atmospheric Chemistry Observations and Modeling (ACOM) lab.
Zahra Hassan (they/them) is an interdisciplinary Fulbright researcher, writer, and educator from Vienna with roots in Iraq. With a background in journalism, media, and gender justice, they are dedicated to bridging disciplines with an emphasis on the intersection of feminist techno-science, environmental studies, and creative practice.
Miriam Saperstein (they/them) is a writer and visual artist. Investigating relationships between Jewish ritual and Empire, their work is frequented by rivers, rebbetzins, demons and their exorcists, as well as dreams of the World to Come. As an educator, Miriam supports learning communities in developing practical skills for integrating ritual and art-making into their research, as well as supporting the collaborative work of shaping and transmitting liberatory cultural narratives.