Michael L. Zirulnik’s research while affiliated with Arizona State University and other places

The Science & Religion project explored the relationship of science and religion through creative nonfiction stories and public programs. The overarching goal of this work was to investigate whether and how museums can encourage reflection and conversation around big, important, and difficult questions. In this paper, we contextualize the project in the movement to address societal issues in museums, describe some of the design and delivery strategies we used to create public programs that were inclusive of diverse points of view, report the programs’ impact on participants, and offer lessons learned for museum practitioners interested in similar programmatic approaches or topics. We also reflect on our own attitudes and preconceptions as museum educators, considering why we felt this was a controversial topic and why we were surprised to discover that audiences were so receptive to it.

The study investigates the ways in which Black female pilots experience and manage their elite status as airline transport pilots (ATPs) and as co-cultural group members. Accordingly, Orbe's (1998b) co-cultural theory is used as a frame to understand how women of color negotiate workplaces where White male cultural norms are omnipresent. Using a phenomenological approach, the communicative lived experiences of two Black female ATPs are analyzed to reveal specific co-cultural communication practices enacted. The study is offered here as a testament to engaged research—that which advances theory (i.e., extending co-cultural theorizing in a new setting) and provides pragmatic insight into important contemporary issues (i.e., increased diversity in a historically White male profession).