This fall, the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies unveiled a new mural, “You Are Here,” created by Jason Bruner, professor of religious studies and senior global futures scholar.
The mural, which resides in Lattie F. Coor Hall, room 4403, uses six panels, each based on a different type of publicly available map — from heat maps to population maps to street maps — to create one continuous depiction of the Valley of the Sun.
The project is the most recent of the school’s collaborations between the humanities and public art on campus, under the leadership of Director Richard Amesbury.
“I think about how any of the maps could tell multiple stories, even though they’re primarily intended to show one or two things,” Bruner said.
“None of (the panels) are entirely cultural; none of them are entirely natural,” Bruner said. “It’s sort of this accrual of what people have done with this place, and how, now in 2026, we have quite literally inherited all of this.”