Haiku Horizons: Bridging Cultures through Creative Technology and Immersive Experience

This program will engage students in a partnership with Keio University, leveraging the traditional Japanese poetic form of haiku to design immersive educational experiences that highlight the impacts of climate change. Students will address the global challenge of climate change through the prism of the wabi-sabi philosophy, exploring the interconnectedness of nature, technology and human creativity. The goal is to create a bridge between cultures using global partnerships and interdisciplinary approaches to media arts that will promote lasting engagement on climate change.

Faculty team members:

• Erin Reilly, MFA, Professor of Practice, Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations, and Director, Texas Immersive Institute, Moody College of Communication
• Kate Freer, BFA, Assistant Professor, Department of Theater and Dance, College of Fine Arts
• Kristin Cather, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Asian Studies, College of Liberal Arts

Student team members:

• Siena Theivagt- Informatics, Thomas Ybarra- Arts & Entertainment Technologies, Ngoc Khanh Nguyen- Advertising, David Zambrano- Arts & Entertainment Technologies
• Akanksha Acharya- Neuroscience, Hudson Day- Art History, Janna Belcher- Advertising, Yuki Pilon- Unspecified Business
• Sena Flores- Biomedical Engineering, Javkhaa Altansukh- Neuroscience, Hanna Yamada- International Relations & Global Studies, Suzuka Yanagawa- Advertising, Speech Language & Hearing Sciences
• Kaitlyn Perez- International Business, Halle Eiwo- Biology, Madeleine Lee- Electrical & Computer Engineering, Alana Lee- Arts & Entertainment Technologies

International partner:

• Keio University, Tokyo, Japan