UA Scholar Featured In National Periodical
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Elliott West, professor of history in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, is among a group of distinguished historians featured in the July/August 2000 issue of Books & Culture.
A special section devoted to exploring the question "What's So New about the New Western History?" includes a review of West's The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado, winner of the Francis Parkman Prize, the Pen Center West Award, the Ray Allen Billington prize, and several other awards.
In the section, Editor Lauren Winner contends that since the 1960s, scholars known as the New Western Historians have increasingly viewed the American West as a distinct geographical region rather than as the fabled mythic frontier peopled by greedy Easterners or Noble Savages, images that became common stereotypes in popular culture. She notes that economics, capitalism, and conquest were among the more prominent themes for these "new" historians, whose work is now several decades old.
In reviewing The Contested Plains, James Ronda, the H.G. Barnard Professor of Western American History at the University of Tulsa, writes that "We are brought face to face with real people — and West always names the names — whose complex lives remind us that no choice is simple and all blessings are mixed." He praises the book as "luminous," calling it a work "that is at heart a meditation on nature's limits and the human condition."
In turn, West reviews the work of Mark Fiege, Irrigated Eden: The Making of an Agricultural Landscape in the American West, in which Fiege guides the reader through the country between the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada. It is a region, West writes, that is "arid, largely treeless, witness to nature's most extreme crankiness."
West, who says he has learned much from both the traditionalists in his field as well as the new historians, is committed to taking a fresh look and asking new questions about what seems familiar in Western history. He is currently working on a history of the West from the Civil War until 1900 as well as a history of the famous Sioux War of 1876 and the Nez Perce War of 1877.
"It is Contested Plains that has catapulted Elliott to the forefront of Western history," said Jeannie Whayne, chair of the history department. "While he is firmly planted in the facts of history, he is not afraid to be innovative in his presentation of those facts."
Information about Books & Culture can be found at http://www.booksandculture.com
Contacts
Elliott West, professor, Department of History, 479-575-3001, ewest@comp.uark.eduJeannie Whayne, chair, Department of History, 479-575-3001, jwhayne@comp.uark.edu
Headlines
Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design Presents Fall 2024 Lecture Series Lineup
Through these carefully selected presenters, the Fay Jones School continues to engage with the broad scope of issues, opportunities and challenges that society and the design disciplines confront today.
Honors College to Host Pulse Discussion on the History of Campus Protests
An expert panel moderated by the Democracy Fellows RSO will discuss the history, philosophy, emergency management and legality of campus protests on Sept. 12.
Baxter Joins Animal Science As Equine Instructor, Ranch Horse & Equine Judging Coach
Amanda Baxter, who has extensive experience in 4-H horse contests and clinics, is joining the Department of Animal Science as an equine instructor and head coach of the ranch horse and equine judging teams.
Wang Appointed Associate Editor for Biophysics Reviews
Yong Wang, associate professor of physics at the University of Arkansas, has been named an associate editor of Biophysics Reviews, the journal of the American Institute of Physics.
Data Science Program to Be Led by Previous Engineering Dean While Director Search Begins
Former Dean John English will serve as director while a search for the successor to University Professor Manuel Rosetti, the Data Science Program's inaugural director, is conducted.