Joanne Richardson

Plein-air paintings on stands in front of a long and sloping grassy hill with two artists in smocks discussing the paintings.

PerspectivesApril 4, 2025

Plein-Air Painting as Countervisual Performative Fieldwork

By Sarah Lewison We can open a portal to the stories of those whose lives have been subjugated by acts of economic control upon…

A person wearing a blue life jacket and winter clothing paddles a canoe on the Mississippi River near the Flint Hills oil refinery at Pine Bend. The refinery's industrial structures, including smokestacks and storage tanks, dominate the background under a cloudy sky. The canoe holds supplies, including a blue container and a red dry bag. Image courtesy of Michelle Garvey. Alt text generated by Perplexity AI.

Teaching and PracticeApril 4, 2025

Mississippi as Method

By Michelle Garvey Praxis of Place When I think about the kinds of praxis—the application of theory—that enable liberatory movements, I remember bell hooks….

Education Engagement Environmental Education Environmental Justice Experiential Education Mississippi River Basin Toolkit

Detail view of a black and white image with selective color highlights showing a riverfront scene. In the foreground, a metal structure with vertical beams stands at the water's edge. The center of the image features a large barge or cargo vessel with a rusty orange hull, reflecting in the calm river water. To the right, a white tugboat named "LOUISIANA STAR" is docked. The background shows industrial structures and trees along the shoreline. The upper portion of the image is mirrored, creating a symmetrical effect. Vegetation and debris are visible in the lower left corner, adding texture to the riverbank. Alt text generated by Perplexity AI.

Primary SourcesApril 4, 2025

Perceptual Ecologies of Sound and Vision at Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing

By Sam Pounders In the Midwest of North America, as in many places, settlements accumulate below confluences where the modern riparian condition unfolds as…

Artistic Expression Engagement Middle Mississippi River Toolkit

A composite image showing a hand holding a portable network kit labeled "Swampnet," featuring a clear plastic case with a small solar panel and an antenna. The background combines a historic 1951 USGS map of New Orleans East, Louisiana, with a modern street view of a residential neighborhood in Bvlbancha | New Orleans. The street is lined with colorful houses, parked cars, and trees under a bright sky. The image represents an alternative communication proof of concept using radio-enabled micro-controllers, Meshtastic software, and LoRa technology to establish a 3.5-mile network in the summer of 2023. Alt text generated by Perplexity AI.

Teaching and PracticeApril 4, 2025

Networking a Network

By Jen Liu and Monique Verdin Beginning in May 2023, we started building an emergency communication network to connect an existing network of mutual…

Communications Community Engagement Engagement Lower Mississippi River Technology Toolkit

A group of people from the Augsburg University community gathers outdoors near a blue solar shed during a dedication ceremony. The shed, equipped with solar panels on its roof, is surrounded by tables holding cooking equipment, including a propane tank and portable stove. Attendees are standing on grass near the I-94 freeway wall, with parked cars and autumn trees visible in the background. A tall building rises in the distance under a cloudy sky. Alt text generated by Perplexity AI.

Teaching and PracticeApril 4, 2025

Building a Small, Solar-Powered Work Shed

By Joseph Underhill What does resistance to the current set of unsustainable, unjust, and unhealthy practices look like? In the face of large-scale, daunting…

Education Environmental Education Minnesota Toolkit

A sailboat on the Mississippi River, featuring a red sail and a wooden mast adorned with green foliage. The lush, tree-lined riverbank provides a serene backdrop. Alt text generated by Perplexity AI.

Teaching and PracticeApril 4, 2025

How to Launch a River Semester: Creating Experimental Programs in Higher Education

By Joseph Underhill How do we create the wildly different kinds of programs needed to respond to the multiple, compounding crises of our day…

Education Experiential Education Toolkit United States

An overhead view of an outdoor picnic setup on grassy ground. A metal tray in the center holds food items including what appears to be meat in a dark red sauce in a plastic container, a packaged sandwich, and several small containers. A thermos sits to the right of the tray, and partial views of several people's feet and legs can be seen surrounding the picnic spread, wearing various footwear including sneakers and boots. A small shovel or tool with a red handle is visible on the left side. Alt text generated by Perplexity AI.

In ReviewApril 2, 2025

Showing Up (for Each Other)

By Lynn Peemoeller Editor’s note: This article was written in January 2024. Here in the Middle Mississippi River region, one thing we’ve managed to…

Community Engagement Engagement Middle Mississippi River Toolkit

IntroductionOctober 31, 2024

Introduction to Issue 27 | Prospect

Reading these articles, I returned to the idea that these authors are offering us the prospect of seeing the conditions of our environment a little differently, widening our scope, and animating potentials for the future. They offer us the power of art, of language, of being present in a place, and of hope.

The image depicts the Klamath River estuary, where the river meets the coastline. The foreground features a sandy shoreline with visible tire tracks, leading into the calm waters of the estuary. In the background, a dense forest covers the hillside, with tall trees and thick greenery extending down to the riverbank. A small area along the riverbank has some ceremonial Yurok Indian Tribe structures, nestled between the edge of the forest and the water.

Feature (Peer Review)October 29, 2024

Rivers as Creative Ecologies

By Sigma Colón and Juli Clarkson. We explore how activists, artists, scholars, and rivers might co-create riverine engagements that interrupt the extractive capitalist, heteropatriarchal, and watershed-colonialist projects that have degraded rivers and continue to exacerbate the current ecological crisis.

Artistic Expression Arts Engagement Humanities Research United States

Image shows Big Stone Lake in the background, behind an unmown grassy hill, under a blue sky with cumulus clouds.

Feature (Peer Review)October 29, 2024

Big Stone Lake Stories: Crossing Borders

By Jonee Kulman Brigham. Earth Systems Journey is foremost a form of participatory public art and secondly an environmental education curriculum model. Big Stone Lake Stories is one of over a dozen applications of the Earth Systems Journey model. Each application is adapted to the specific people, place, and program where it occurs, and with each iteration new insights emerge.

Artistic Expression Engagement Environmental Education Minnesota United States