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Center of the American West

Center of the American West

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    About the Center

    The Center of the American West is a recognized hub for illuminating the role of the western United States in regional, national and global issues. We bring people together to explore the ongoing complexities of and challenges facing the western United States through education, research, programs, and projects.

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    At the Center of the American West, we provide students a welcoming community on the CU Boulder campus where they can understand the importance of the western U.S. as they navigate their academic path and professional journey. 

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    The Center of the American West works on issues as diverse as the West itself. From energy to immigration, government to development, water to wildfire, and much more, you’ll find a wide selection of our projects and publications in this section. 

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“I am a child of the American West, a landscape so rich and wide that my culture trembles with terror before its power.” So begins Taylor Brorby’s Boys and Oil, a haunting, bracingly honest memoir about growing up gay amidst the harshness of rural North Dakota, “a place where there is no safety in a ravaged landscape of mining and fracking.”*

Join the Center of the American West for the kickoff of our 2023-24 "Rewriting the West" author series as we welcome author Taylor Brorby to discuss his 2022 book, Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land, with Professor Bud Coleman, Roe Green Endowed Chair in Theatre at CU Boulder.

Set at the edge of the 100th meridian in North Dakota and westward, Brorby’s memoir speaks to issues related to extractive economies, queerness, disability, and climate change. The book helps us wonder what "rewriting the West" could look like as we explore recently published works that complicate conventional notions of the western U.S. through evocative first-person narratives.

An audience Q&A and book signing will follow.
This event is free but space and books are limited.

For more details and to register, please call 303-492-4897 or register via this form

*excerpt taken from Taylor Brorby's website

Please join us for the following Fall 2023 events

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In anticipation of a CU Football season like never before, Brooke Neely, a research associate with CU Boulder's Center of the American West, discusses the distinctions between bison and buffalo, shedding light on the reasons Ralphie commonly has been referred to as a buffalo. She also explains how these creatures have come to symbolize not only CU Boulder but also the broader essence of Western American identity.

In the News

A river runs through Rocky Mountain National Park

Tributary: Remembering Charles Wilkinson at the Center of the American West

Charles Wilkinson, Moses Lasky Professor of Law Emeritus and Distinguished Professor at CU Boulder, was a co-founder of the Center of the American West who gave so much vitality to those of us downstream through his writing, legal expertise, and humanity. Read more in our tribute to him upon his death on June 6th, 2023.

Tribal leaders, CU President Todd Saliman, DiStefano and other CU faculty and community members visiting southwest Colorado

Tuition, fees covered for Southern Ute students under partnership with tribe

The Center of the American West has worked closely with Southern Ute on our "Indigenous Connections" project at Rocky Mountain National Park, so we amplify this story about CU Boulder providing scholarships to Southern Ute tribal members to celebrate the path forward for the next generation of indigenous student scholars.

Horses

Reassessing The History of Horses

A Faculty Affiliate of the Center of the American West and Assistant Professor and Curator of Archaeology at the CU Museum of Natural History, Dr. William Taylor led this paradigm-shifting research, not only challenging the Pueblo Revolt theory of the introduction to horses in Native America but also centering traditional indigenous knowledge in the analysis of archaeological materials.

 

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