Bass Connections Open

Bass Connections Open supports interdisciplinary, team-based research projects and courses that fall outside the scope of the existing themes. This experimental channel is designed to identify percolating areas of interest not addressed by the current themes. Past teams have investigated the politics of space exploration, equity in STEM education, the impact of women musicians on the blues, the science of refugee camp management, youth voting rights, visual media in times of war, creative industries and gentrification in Durham, and more.

As part of Bass Connections Open, we also issue occasional special calls for proposals related to emerging issues of societal importance (otherwise known as a “pop-up” theme). Past pop-up themes have yielded research teams related to hurricane recovery and resilience, immigration, the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthening democracy in a polarized world, Duke’s centennial and geopolitical conflict and humanitarian crises in the Middle East and beyond.