Mars, Matthew M | Public & Applied Humanities

mmars@arizona.edu

Mars, Matthew M

Professor and Interim Head

Matt Mars is an interdisciplinary scholar who teaches and writes about community innovation and the influence of market narratives on everyday life and routines. Matt’s research is published in a diverse range of journals that span sociology, marketing, community development, and higher education. Some examples of the journals he has published in include Community Development, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Higher Education, Marketing Theory, and Minerva. Matt’s current work explores the influence of visual narratives on the creation and identities of local consumption spaces, whether they be coffee shops, craft breweries, or farmers’ markets. Matt is currently the Co-Editor of Advances in the Study of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth series (Emerald), Associate Editor of Community Development, and a member of the editorial board of Local Development & Society.

Matt has received multiple teaching awards and recognitions including being named Dorrance Scholarship Program Professor of Excellence in Teaching (2017-present), the USDA/APLU Excellence in College and University Teaching Award – Western Region (2020), and the APLU Innovative Teaching Award (2018).

Matt earned his PhD through the Center for the Study of Higher Education at The University of Arizona. He also holds an MEd in Counseling and Human Relations from Northern Arizona University and a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Utica College of Syracuse University.

Currently Teaching

PAH 200 – Introduction to Applied Humanities

This courses introduces and helps students to practice a set of critical and practical skills developed specifically for understanding and improving the human condition. Over the course of the semester we will: 1) survey the origins and history of the applied humanities, paying particular attention to the intersection of ways of seeing and doing; 2) examine exemplary research-informed and publicly-facing projects for insight into how to theorize and improve life in the community and beyond; and 3) explore tools and techniques for engaging in small and large scale applied humanities endeavors.

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PAH 391 – Preceptorship

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of instruction and practice in actual service in a department, program, or discipline. Teaching formats may include seminars, in-depth studies, laboratory work and patient study.

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PAH 491 – Preceptorship

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PAH 498H – Public and Applied Humanities Honors Thesis

Students must contact the faculty member with whom they would like to pursue a thesis with well before the beginning of the semester. The student must work with the Instructor to design a thesis.

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