The University of Alabama in Huntsville students are envisioning Huntsville as a twenty-third-century city, and have released a new podcast to explore the Rocket City’s potential.
The Huntsville is Liminal Space podcast presents the concept of liminality, an in-between space where dynamic transformation occurs, as a vector for innovation and visionary problem-solving among industry, government, humanities, and human capital.
Produced by students in the UAH College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, each episode examines public problems and opportunities in four liminal spaces--- environment, education, civil rights and liberties, and the cosmos. Provocative episodes such as Spaced Out: Fixing Urban Sprawl and Transforming Huntsville into a Green City, and Expedition Education, thoughtfully confront problems that the city must jettison as it leads the way to space. Guests include Madison County Commissioner Violet Edwards; Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering (ASCTE) President Matt Massey; Ankur Shah, a geospatial data analyst and environmental educator, and; Brenda Hampton, founder of Concerned Citizens of West Morgan and East Limestone (WMEL).
The Huntsville is Liminal Space podcast is the culminating project of students in an experimental federalism and intergovernmental relations course. Students assembled in micro think tanks, or quad pods, to assess Huntsville’s liminal capacity for transformative change. Their fascinating findings provide rich context for each episode. Sponsored by the UAH Humanities Center, the podcast is at artemisgen.org. For more information, contact Dr. Noelle Hunter, nh0046@uah.edu.