Set in Stone but Not in Meaning: Southwestern Rock Art with Allen Dart

Butterfly Lodge Museum's Applewhite Pavilion 4 county road 1126, Greer, AZ, United States

Ancient American Indian petroglyphs (symbols carved or pecked on rocks) and pictographs (rock paintings) are claimed by some to be forms of writing for which meanings are known. But are such claims supported by archaeology or by Native Americans? Archaeologist Allen Dart illustrates how petroglyph and pictograph styles changed through time and over different parts […]

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Caretakers of the Land: A Story of Farming and Community in San Xavier with Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan with

Chandler Hamilton Library 3700 S. Arizona Ave, Chandler, AZ, United States

Farming has always been the way of life for the Tohono O’odham community in San Xavier, located just south of Tucson. Their way of life depended on access to the land and to the water, namely the Santa Cruz River, which nourished agriculture in the area for generations. But a history of division sown through […]

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Era of Artificial Intelligence: What Is Research, and How Is Knowledge Created? with Andrea Christelle

Chandler Public Library - Hamilton Branch 3700 S. Arizona Avenue, Chandler

In today’s digital world, anyone can publish their writing. Anyone can make a movie. The democratization of knowledge or content creation has given a voice to untold stories. But there is a flipside. Who, or what, gets to create knowledge? Can AI systems create knowledge? When Chat GPT writes a student’s paper, is that original […]

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Education in the News: What’s Happening in Classrooms Today? with Derek Keith

Mesquite Branch - Phoenix Public Library 4525 Paradise Village Pkwy N, Phoenix, AZ, United States

The debate over what happens in the classroom continues to escalate as politics creep into curriculum. What can be taught, what can be said, and what pronouns teachers can use are all in question. What are the new bills and school policies being introduced in Arizona? How is legislation in other states influencing the national […]

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He/She/They: Why Pronouns Matter with Erick Tanchez

Downtown Chandler Public Library- Copper Room South 22 S. Delaware St, Chandler, AZ, United States

There has been a lot of attention on pronouns in the news headlines recently—from state bills aimed at regulating pronouns in the classroom to social media platforms offering pronoun options. So, what is a pronoun? How are pronouns related to gender identity, such as cisgender, transgender, nonbinary? What are gender identities? Is there a difference […]

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For the Love of Turquoise with Carrie Cannon

Pinetop Lakeside Town Hall, Council Chambers 325 W White Mountain Blvd., Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ, United States

Turquoise has a long standing tradition amongst Native cultures of the Southwest, holding special significance and profound meanings to specific individual tribes. Even before the more contemporary tradition of combining silver with turquoise, cultures throughout the southwest used turquoise in necklaces, earrings, mosaics, fetishes, medicine pouches, and made bracelets of basketry stems lacquered with piñon […]

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Voting Access: What If Voting Were Mandatory? with Mathew Nevarez

Foothills Library 19055 N 57th Ave, Glendale, AZ, United States

Voting is an essential part of the electoral process. How do we vote? Where do we vote? What is the process for voting? Join us for an interactive thought exercise: Imagine a scenario where all Arizonans are required to vote. You are responsible for voter turnout. How do you ensure you get voters to the […]

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Desert Rats, River Runners, and Canyon Crawlers: Four Arizona Explorers with Gregory McNamee

Social Hall - R H Johnson Recreation Center 19803 N. R.H. Johnson Blvd, Sun City West, AZ, United States

Francisco Garcés, a Franciscan friar, arrived in what is now Arizona in 1768. Assigned to the church at San Xavier del Bac south of present-day Tucson, he traveled widely throughout Arizona and California, charting overland routes that later travelers would follow. Near where Garcés would meet his death in 1781, an American soldier named Joseph […]

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Diné Bikéyah, Bee Hózhó (From Beauty is the Land) – Writing Workshop

Navajo Nation Library Hwy 264 and Postal Loop Road, Window rock, Arizona

What is our relationship to the land? How is our relationship affected by climate change? Join us for an interactive writing workshop about the past, present, and future of Dinétah, with poet and artist, Amber McCrary, and creative writing professor, Shaina Nez. We will explore how writing can help us understand the environmental challenges shaping […]

Decolonizing Beauty: Who Is Considered Beautiful? with Kaari Aubrey

Coolidge Public Library Program Room 160 W Central Ave, Coolidge, AZ, United States

How is beauty portrayed in the movies we watch? In the ads we are exposed to? Popular culture, or the dominant culture, has played a key role in defining the standards of beauty in America and across the globe. We celebrate blondness, fairness, blue-eyes, and slender figures (in women). What advantages and privileges are associated […]

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