A Closer Look

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Check out the Wyoming Humanities List of Grantees for 2020-2021
December 31, 2021
A Closer Look
The 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps
As Black History Month comes to an end, after I’ve listened to “1619,”. . .
Mark Jenkins
April 1, 2021
A Closer Look
What is democracy?
What is democracy? What does it mean? What does it look like?
Josh Watanabe
March 18, 2020
A Closer Look
Celebrating Women’s Voting in Wyoming for 150 Years
On December 10, 2019, Wyoming commemorates the sesquicentennial anniversary of. . .
Shannon Smith
December 5, 2019
A Closer Look
Wyoming's Future Requires Creative Ideas
October was National Arts and Humanities Month, and along with November tends to be. . .
Shannon Smith
November 1, 2019
A Closer Look
What We Owe the Dead
Cemeteries are often overlooked as something the public needs to be concerned with. . .
Keelyn Bryam
October 7, 2019
A Closer Look
Summer Movies' Nostalgia
Some of this summer’s films are less sequels than remakes—recreations of films. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
September 6, 2019
A Closer Look
Teton PowWow, Dancing and Chanting on Sept. 21st
At noon on Saturday September 21 the Grand Entry of the Teton PowWow at the Teton. . .
Emy diGrappa
September 6, 2019
A Closer Look
Paniolos, Columbus, and Language's Power
Summer in Wyoming means rodeo season. Speaking to C-SPAN, Sheridan Mayor Roger Miller. . .
Josh Watanabe
August 7, 2019
A Closer Look
The Capitol Grand Re-Opening: the Importance of Our History and Heritage
It was a magnificent day. The crystal clear blue sky set the stage and the cheerful. . .
Shannon Smith
August 6, 2019
A Closer Look
Wyoming Humanities' 2019 Summer Reading List
During your summer travels, hikes, and hang outs, don’t forget to bring a book! Here. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
July 2, 2019
A Closer Look
"Hearts of Glass" to Tour Wyoming
On June 1, Wyoming Humanities cohosted the premiere of the documentary film, Hearts. . .
Shannon Smith
June 10, 2019
A Closer Look
Meet Wyoming Humanities' New Board Members!
The newest members of the Wyoming Humanities Council board.
Erin Pryor Ackerman
June 7, 2019
A Closer Look
“The Brontes had their moors, I have my marshes”: on Lorine Niedecker’s poetry
As we head into the calmer end of Spring and the green of early Summer, I find myself. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
May 6, 2019
A Closer Look
Coming Soon: One Book Wyoming’s “In Our Time”
This week, April 7-13, is National Library Week. The theme this year? Libraries. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
April 8, 2019
A Closer Look
More of the Same: “The Momo Challenge” and Critical Thinking
In the introduction to the 1964 Report of the Commission on the Humanities the. . .
Josh Watanabe
March 7, 2019
A Closer Look
Sponsored Program Spotlight: Casper College Humanities Festival and Demorest Lecture
Chat with Valerie Innella Maiers and Aaron M. Wood about the Casper College. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
February 7, 2019
A Closer Look
The Government Shutdown, the NEH, and State Humanities Councils
As you are surely aware, our nation recently experienced the longest government. . .
Shannon Smith
February 7, 2019
A Closer Look
On the Importance of Stories
To misquote a former Wyoming Humanities employee: the humanities are our stories. The. . .
Josh Watanabe
January 10, 2019
A Closer Look
Remembering President George H.W. Bush
Today is a National Day of Mourning to honor the late former President George H.W. . . .
Shannon Smith
December 5, 2018
A Closer Look
How Harry Jackson made me a conservationist: exploring the intersection between conservation and the humanities
Trips to Cody, WY were always special and exciting occasions growing up. My brother. . .
November 8, 2018
A Closer Look
Wyoming’s Common Ground
Today I am in New Orleans for the National Humanities Conference. It is the annual. . .
Shannon Smith
November 8, 2018
A Closer Look
“Insatiable,” Diet Culture, and the Female Abject Body
The concept of dieting has pervaded our society for millennia, but it is in relatively. .
October 4, 2018
A Closer Look
Grantee Spotlight: Telling History through Song with the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation and the No-No Boy Project
A chat with Dakota Russell, interim Executive Director of the Heart Mountain Wyoming. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
October 4, 2018
A Closer Look
Pushing back against “Model Minority” and “Yellow Peril” stereotypes
In Netflix’s recent rom-com hit To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, the two love. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
September 6, 2018
A Closer Look
Grantee Spotlight: Relative Theatrics’ “Read, Rant, Relate”
We sat down to chat with Anne Mason, Founder and Producing Artistic Director of. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
September 6, 2018
A Closer Look
Hemingway in the West
Hemingway's journey in Wyoming and how it impacted him and his novels.
Shannon Smith
August 8, 2018
A Closer Look
“Two Nations One Reservation” coming soon to a school or library near you!
Small pop-up exhibits introducing the story of the treaties, laws, events and people. . .
August 8, 2018
A Closer Look
2018 Wyoming Humanities Summer Reading List
Staff and board members list their favorite books and readings to fill your summer.
Erin Pryor Ackerman
July 2, 2018
A Closer Look
Modern Cultural Conversations about Motherhood
The impact of mothers on family was thought of differently in the 19th century
Erin Pryor Ackerman
June 7, 2018
A Closer Look
Our History with Immigration and its Connection to Racism
The history of immigration in the United States and how race is affected by it.
Erin Pryor Ackerman
May 11, 2018
A Closer Look
Humanities and the Importance of Critical Thinking
Everything you buy or use, more or less, comes with terms and conditions or user. . .
Josh Watanabe
May 11, 2018
A Closer Look
Democracy and the Informed Citizen & Upcoming Summer 150ths
Yale professor and former FBI agent Asha Rangappa will kick off Wyoming Humanities. . .
Josh Watanabe
April 12, 2018
A Closer Look
“Space is the Place” and “Wakanda Forever”: Afrofuturism’s Other Stories
Afrofuturism features Black voices with “other stories to tell about culture, technology
Erin Pryor Ackerman
March 13, 2018
A Closer Look
Mainstreaming Education in Video Games
Gamification of learning in a digital age and how fiction and gameplay can work to. . .
Josh Watanabe
March 12, 2018
A Closer Look
Casper Humanities Festival: Our Take on Fables, Folklore, and Fantasy
Science fiction and fantasy can serve as escapes from our daily lives
Erin Pryor Ackerman
February 8, 2018
A Closer Look
Opening the 2018 Olympics
The Olympics have caused controversy and yet connected the globe.
Josh Watanabe
February 8, 2018
A Closer Look
Net Neutrality: Freedom of Information, or Business Rights?
But for most of us, the benefits of the internet still outweigh the risk.
Josh Watanabe
December 6, 2017
A Closer Look
2017 Year in Review
A review of the activities around Wyoming in 2017.
Josh Watanabe
December 6, 2017
A Closer Look
Libraries are here to stay and more popular than ever!
A look at how public libraries started and continue to grow in popularity.
Erin Pryor Ackerman
November 7, 2017
A Closer Look
What’s Going on with Big Data and Artificial Intelligence?
Big data and artificial intelligence are giving us answers, but also directing us.
Josh Watanabe
November 7, 2017
A Closer Look
Fake News is a Real Problem, but What if We’re the Cause?
How fake news - clickbait - can cause problems and spread stories that are not real.
Josh Watanabe
October 6, 2017
A Closer Look
Sports Are Never Just About Sports
The benefits and lessons learned from participating in sports as kids and adults.
Josh Watanabe
October 6, 2017
A Closer Look
Big Brother is Watching You
Conversations about 1984 supported by trained moderators will happen in Wyoming
Josh Watanabe
October 6, 2017
A Closer Look
Humanities and the 2017 Solar Eclipse
The humanities council staff talks about the 2017 solar eclipse in Wyoming.
Josh Watanabe
September 1, 2017
A Closer Look
Diversity: A Solution to the Decline of the Humanities?
The decline in interest in humanities could be solved with diversity.
Josh Watanabe
July 31, 2017
A Closer Look
Hell Gap – Our State’s Newest (and Oldest?) National Historic Landmark
A recent National Historic Landmark is Hell Gap, right here in Wyoming.
Josh Watanabe
July 31, 2017
A Closer Look
Cuts and Consequences: Why the Fate of TRiO Matters for the Humanities
FY2017 budget proposed the elimination of 62 programs and agencies, one of them was TRiO.
Josh Watanabe
July 6, 2017
A Closer Look
Democracy, the Press, and Civil Discourse and Disobedience
Our country is losing the ability to trust the very public institutions upon which we. . .
Shannon Smith
July 6, 2017
A Closer Look
What’s Up with That National Monument Thing?
The importance of national monuments to our society and history.
Josh Watanabe
June 6, 2017
A Closer Look
The Lost Dauphin of Mississippi
Wyoming Humanities Regional Director, Jason Burge, leaves and heads to New Zealand.
Josh Watanabe
June 6, 2017
A Closer Look
Land-Grant Universities, the Humanities, and Equal Access
An education involving the humanities trains students how to think critically; how to. . .
Josh Watanabe
June 6, 2017
A Closer Look
Race: Its place and portrayal in film making
The 1915 film Birth of a Nation holds a troubled place in American film history. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
May 4, 2017
A Closer Look
Continuing a Conversation about the Humanities
The importance of continuing the conversation around the humanities in Wyoming.
Shannon Smith
May 4, 2017
A Closer Look
Book Review: Behind the Carbon Curtain by UW’s Jeffrey Lockwood
A review on the book by UW's Jeffrey Lockwood, Behind the Carbon Curtain.
Shannon Smith
May 4, 2017
A Closer Look
Determining the True Cost of the Humanities
On March 16, the Trump administration released its first federal budget plan which. . .
Shannon Smith
March 30, 2017
A Closer Look
Libel in Heart Mountain: A University of Wyoming Mock Trial
A UW mock trial of the events at Heart Mountain.
Josh Watanabe
March 29, 2017
A Closer Look
The Humanities, The Economy, and STEM
Our world has changed dramatically in the last three decades. From the technologies. . .
Shannon Smith
March 1, 2017
A Closer Look
21st Century Gamification: Experiential Learning Through Play
While we tend to think of them as a modern phenomenon, according to the International. . .
Josh Watanabe
March 1, 2017
A Closer Look
From Comic Books to Graphic Novels: A New Literary Experience
The past few years have provided us with a spate of superhero movies, most often in. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
March 1, 2017
A Closer Look
How to Slay a Dragon; or, What Fiction Can Teach Us
So reads the epigraph to Neil Gaiman’s novella Coraline. At the most basic leve
Erin Pryor Ackerman
January 30, 2017
A Closer Look
Humanities’ Role in Cultural Awareness
Word got back to us that a call had been made to local law enforcement inquiring
Josh Watanabe
January 30, 2017
A Closer Look
Public Humanities Programs and the “Elite” Narrative
Taking a closer look the state of our nation and our state after what most will agree
Shannon Smith
December 27, 2016
A Closer Look
#WhatsYourSource
Earlier this month “fake news” got daily coverage when a man shot a rifle in the. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
December 27, 2016
A Closer Look
A Year in Review
As we move into December, holiday letters will soon pepper our mailboxes
Erin Pryor Ackerman
November 30, 2016
A Closer Look
American Indian History is American History
One hundred and fifty years ago, on December 21, 1866, an alliance of Lakota, Northern. .
Shannon Smith
November 30, 2016
A Closer Look
Founding Fathers, "Hamilton" and Identity in Modern America
So begins the life story of one of our lesser known founding fathers, filtered
Josh Watanabe
November 30, 2016
A Closer Look
Is politics about facts or something else?
In Season 5 of The West Wing President Bartlet, that fictional Democratic ideal. . .
Erin Pryor Ackerman
October 26, 2016
A Closer Look
Chicken Denies the Egg: A Special Report on the Nobel Prize and the beginnings of the Literary Canon through Modernity
It’s been interesting to watch the recent fallout over former Minnesota resident
Josh Watanabe
October 26, 2016
A Closer Look
Reviving Civility in Politics…Is It Possible?
A Pew Research Center survey conducted in June of this year found that six-in-ten
Shannon Smith
October 26, 2016
A Closer Look
When all you've got's a hammer …
In the last three decades there’s been a crisis, of sorts, for the humanities
Josh Watanabe
October 3, 2016
A Closer Look
A New Era for Wyoming Humanities
Fifty-one years ago, on September 29, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed. . .
Shannon Smith
October 1, 2016
A Closer Look
Water on the Page
“I am haunted by waters.” That famous closing line of “A River Runs Through It”
Erin Pryor Ackerman
September 2, 2016