• A group photo of UConn Waterbury students from the Urban Studies Class during their field trip to the MAT. The group of students and their instructors are standing in front of the wall with a colorful painting in the main entrance of the museum.

Welcome to HACER Lab!

The mission of HACER Lab is to build and maintain an infrastructure for public humanities projects, community-driven research, and life-transformative educational experiences for undergraduate students at UConn Waterbury.

UConn Waterbury Urban Studies Class Presentations on location

Who We Are

We are a research lab advancing humanities-driven activism, community engagement, and social change.

Meet Our Team

UConn Waterbury City Hall Career Tour

Current Projects

Learn about our current research that explores community engagement to address pressing social issues.

Go To Our Projects

UConn Waterbury City Hall Career Tour

News

Discover articles showcasing the innovative research from our diverse team and collaborators.

Go To News

A Message From Our PIs:

As faculty trained in community-engaged research, we have incorporated service-learning and public humanities pedagogy in our classes, and we have collaborated with undergraduate researchers to pursue our scholarly endeavors.

Individually, our research has been supported by several grants including CLAS DEI Research Initiative; American Studies Faculty Research Grant; UConn Waterbury Innovation Grant for Life Transformative Education (Research Track); SHARE Summer Research Apprenticeship and Work-Student Research Assistant Programs (UConn Office of Undergraduate Research); and OVPR’s Scholarship Facilitation Fund.

As co-PIs we received previous support (2023-2024; 2024-2025) to convene and facilitate a UCHI Humanities Working Group at UConn Waterbury. The renovation of 36 N Main has provided us a physical space where all programming for the HACER Lab public humanities initiative will take place. We are working to secure funding for the lab’s operating budget and future programming. Please contact us with proposals for co-sponsorships or grant applications if you are a UConn department, program, or institute aligned with our goals.

News

  • New Site Launched
    We’re thrilled to announce the launch of HACER Lab’s brand-new website! Designed to connect, inform, and inspire, our new online space showcases our mission, projects, and the incredible work happening at the intersection of humanities, activism, and community engagement. Explore our initiatives, meet our team, and stay updated on how we’re making an impact. Welcome […]
  • New UConn Waterbury Building Opening
    The new UConn Waterbury building will offer resources for humanities and social sciences, including the HACER Lab, the Ideas + Impact initiative, and other learning communities focused on social impact, sustainability, and health. Read the Article
  • Featured in UConn Today!
    Our project on Mapping, Documenting, and Digitalizing Latin American and Caribbean Communities in Waterbury was featured in UConn Today! Read the Article

Contact Us

Phone: (Will be available soon)
arganaraz@uconn.edu
Address: 99 E Main St,
Waterbury, CT 06702 (TEMP)