LCHS Spring Speaker Series

Latah County exemplifies the American West, a region imbued with romance and drama. The very geography of the land sets the stage for stories of rugged individualism and man's triumph over nature. Yet so much of what we know about the history of the "Old West" is defined by pop culture. Books, movies, and music have flattened the realities of the frontier into a series of tropes that are far less interesting than the true tales that history can reveal. The Latah County Historical Society is pleased to host a series of talks exploring some of the myths that are so common about the American West. The series begins on Tuesday, February 19 with Dr. Peter Boag, professor at Washington State University and the Columbia Chair in the History of the American West. Dr. Boag’s talk, “Alternative Masculinities in the ‘Old West’: Some Stories of Subversion, Resistance, and Acceptance” shares stories of individuals whose truths subvert common wisdom about the region’s gender stereotypes, whose lives of resistance to societal norms question masculinity and femininity, and whose oft-times acceptance by their communities flies in the face of stereotypes, prejudices, and violence against difference that plagues the region to this day. The public is invited to join us for this free event on Tuesday, February 19. Additional dates in the series are March 26, “American Indian Education and Contested Power” with Philip Stevens, and April 16, “Women’s Work in the West” with Katrina Eichner.