Past Events

If You Go Date: April 4, 2017 Time: 6:30 PM Where: Old Main Chapel Father and Daughter duo Ian Frazier and Cora Frazier , both humorists who write for The New Yorkermagazine as well as a host of other prominent publications, will join Patty Limerick for a discussion—and many demonstrations!—of...

If You Go Date: March 8, 2017 Time: 6:30 PM Where: Old Main Chapel So a stand-up comic, a literary scholar, and a behavioral scientist walk into a lecture hall, and a Western American historian hands them the question, “What’s so funny about pop music?” To hear the answer, along...

If You Go Date: February 21, 2017 Time: 6:30 PM Where: Benson Earth Sciences 180 “The 2016 Oregon Wildlife Refuge Takeover: A Tribal Response” A year ago, Former Chairwoman Charlotte Roderique of the Burns Paiute Tribe in Eastern Oregon came to national attention during the armed takeover, led by Ammon...

If You Go Date: October 4, 2016 Time: 6:30PM Where: Benson Earth Sciences 180 In 1966, nine young men left the Arizona desert mining camp of Morenci to serve their country in the far-flung jungles of Vietnam. Ultimately, only three survived. Each battled survivor’s guilt, difficult re-entries into civilian life,...

If You Go Date: April 13, 2016 Time: 6:30PM Where: Old Main Chapel Each year, the Center of the American West presents the Wallace Stegner Award to an individual who has made a sustained contribution to the cultural identity of the West through literature, art, history, lore, or an understanding...

If You Go Date: March 28, 2016 Time: 6:30PM Where: Benson Earth Sciences 180 In We Gotta Get Out of This Place, Doug Bradley and Craig Werner place popular music at the heart of the American experience in Vietnam. They explore how and why U.S. troops turned to music as...

If You Go Date: February 18, 2016 Time: 6:30PM Where: Eaton Humanities 1B50 The Fracture book release event featured Pam Houston, Patty Limerick, and the book’s editor Taylor Brorby who read selections from the book and engaged in conversation about these complicated and important issues. Fracture brings together the voices...

If You Go Date: October 26, 2015 Time: 6:30PM Where: Hale 270 William (Will) Wilson is a Diné photographer who spent his formative years living in the Navajo Nation. In 2007, Wilson won the Native American Fine Art Fellowship from the Eiteljorg Museum, and in 2010 was awarded a prestigious...

If You Go Date: November 12, 2008 Time: 7:00PM Where: Old Main Immigration On the heels of one of the longest presidential campaigns in history, one that has turned up the heat on the topic of immigration, the Center shifted the focus back from positions to people. This special evening...