From the stories preserved in Wyoming’s archives to the fossils buried beneath its landscapes, the American West holds a history that continues to shape the region today. This week, Casper College is bringing those stories and perspectives together as it hosts its 41st Annual Humanities Festival, inviting the community to look at the West through the lens of its past, present and future.
Running through Friday, October 2, the festival’s theme, “The West: Past, Present, and Future,” brings together presenters from the social sciences, humanities and fine arts for a series of lectures, discussions, presentations and performances. The sessions explore the many forces that have shaped the American West, from its cultural and historical roots to its changing landscapes and the possibilities ahead.
Free and open to the public, the annual festival offers Casper residents, students and visitors an opportunity to engage with ideas that reach beyond the classroom and connect directly to the region they call home.
Exploring the West Through Different Perspectives
The American West is often remembered through familiar images of wide-open landscapes, frontier towns, cowboys and rugged independence. But its history is far more layered, shaped by generations of people, cultural traditions, scientific discoveries and changing relationships with the land.
This year's Humanities Festival takes a broader look at that history, bringing together subjects that might not ordinarily share the same stage.
From paleontology and regional conservation to literature, art and traditional Western food, the festival's programming highlights how different disciplines can offer new ways to understand the region. READ MORE