about the program
resources | graduate study | financial support | ask us a question
all about Laramie | some virtual places to visit | the Cooper house
Our program serves as an interdisciplinary location for the discussion of American culture by faculty, students, and the public. The Program dates from 1952, placing it among the earliest to offer work in the interdisciplinary field of American culture studies. The University of Wyoming offers both B.A. and M.A. degrees in American Studies.
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Resources
The late William Robertson Coe, industrialist, philanthropist and sometime
resident of Cody, Wyoming, endowed the University in the 1950s with funds to
sustain and develop its American Studies Program. Along with supporting the
academic program, this Coe fund has allowed the acquisition of extensive
library and archival materials in Americana, making the University an
important research center for American Studies scholarship.
William Robertson Coe Library The library's cataloged collections total over seven hundred thousand volumes, periodical and serial titles. In addition, the library provides extensive microforms collections and a library of over 150,000 maps, and serves as a depository for United States government publications. Because of the collection's early emphasis on American studies, Coe Library is capable of sustaining Ph.D. level research projects.
Through participation in the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries (CARL), the Bibliographical Center for Research in Denver, on-line information retrieval systems, and the interlibrary loan network, access is provided to other library resources from throughout the nation and the world. Membership is also maintained in the Chicago-based Center for Research Libraries, a special library of some 3.5 million volumes and over 27,700 current serials not held by the university.
The American Heritage Center The Centennial Complex is one of the largest and most significant archives in the western United States. Among the more than 75,000 cubic feet of material located in the American Heritage Center, there are significant concentrations on western Life, photographic history, Hollywood, the history of technology, and early television.
The center's basic objectives are to gather, preserve and make available for research materials pertaining to the many facets of our American heritage, particularly the American West. Currently the center houses some 13,000 collections in the fields of western history, politics, transportation, livestock, rare books, contemporary American history and the performing arts. The collections are a varied accumulation of personal documents, professional papers, corporate records, historical photographs, films and memorabilia.
The Wyoming Council for the Humanities This federally- supported organization, located on campus, funds public humanities projects throughout the state. Grants and fellowships can be applied for, both through the American Studies Program and individually.
Buffalo Bill Historical Center The center,
located in Cody, Wyoming offers fine research opportunities and a range of
summer courses focusing on the West. The American Studies Program has an
established internship program at the center.
Graduate Study
The American Studies M.A. candidate pursues a curriculum which may include
courses from a variety of disciplines but which centers upon the American
experience. The student develops a concentration in one or two areas
(American literature, the history of the built environment, or American
history, for example), but s/he is expected to offer supporting work in such
other fields as anthropology, sociology, art, philosophy and political
science. The total course program will reflect the student's interests and
background and should consolidate the student's interdisciplinary work into
a coherent investigation of American life and thought.
Historic Preservation The Historic Preservation
emphasis, which involves studio courses and field experience, combines
cultural studies and technical knowledge of the built environment.
Previously Historic Preservation has been the domain of departments such as
history or architecture. However in an American Studies context a greater
humanistic view of preservation is emphasized. Historic preservation
students should prepare themselves with work in history of American
architecture. Students applying to the historic preservation track may be
able to enter under the auspices of the Western Regional Graduate Program.
For eligibility inquire through the American Studies Office.
Thesis Plans At the time of the thesis defense
(Plan A) or the oral examination (Plan B), each M.A. candidate must present
a brief position paper which outlines the student's research interests
within the interdisciplinary field.
Master of Arts, Plan A requires 26 hours plus thesis. If the student elects Plan A (an appropriate choice if the ultimate goal is a doctorate), the thesis may rely on one of the traditional disciplines but should contain an interdisciplinary perspective which integrates the topic into the stream of American culture.
Master of Arts, Plan B requires 30 hours, no thesis. If the student follows Plan B, s/he is expected to present to the examining committee a seminar paper or papers of publishable caliber, more limited in scope than the thesis but of equal rigor in conception and execution. The student will complete a written examination based on a reading list, the composition of which will be agreed on by the student and his or her graduate committee. The written examination, the position paper and the Plan B paper will then be the subject of an oral defense.
Financial Support
Graduate Assistantships The William Robertson Coe
and the Kuehn endowments help to support 13 graduate assistantships. These
awards allow students to work either in the program or in a participating
department as a teacher, discussion leader, grader, or research assistant.
The graduate assistantship remits tuition costs as well.
Clatterbuck Fellowship Awarded to one enrolled student to support an American Studies activity, usually at the international level ($500-$1500).
E.B. Long-Findeisen Fund Awarded to 3-5 American Studies students each year based on need ($200-$500 each).
Jay Greene Essay Contest Awarded to two students, one undergraduate and one graduate, for the best essay in American Studies ($250 each).
Research Support This is granted on an ad hoc
basis to students who are writing M.A. theses. Typically, we have supported
presentations at academic conferences, field research expenses, or
publication costs.
about Laramie
Laramie’s population is approximately 27, 200 (2000 U.S. Census figures). University of Wyoming students make up about 9,900 of the population (Fall 2003 enrollment).
The median household income is $29,337, and earnings range from $5.15 to $21.60 per hour. Unemployment is at 1.8%, one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state.
Taxes in Laramie and in Wyoming are some of the lowest in the nation. There is no state or local personal income tax, corporate income tax, or inventory tax, and sales tax is only 6%. Inflation was reported at 1.6% in 2000. Wyoming is a Right-To-Work state.
Crime in Laramie is very low and well below national standings. The city did suffer some unfortunate international infamy with the tragic and senseless death of Matthew Shepard in 1998. However, the citizens of Laramie came together to prove that this was not an act that represented the feelings of the entire community: in fact, just the opposite. Wyoming has a long-standing tradition of tolerance and minority inclusion. From the immigrants who worked on the railroad years ago, to the first women to vote and act as jury, to the international students that culturally enrich our community today, Laramie remains a place of diversity and tolerance.
History
The Wyoming Plains were home to the Shoshone and Teton-Dakota
Indians long before the 1820's, when early trappers and traders began
to inhabit the region. One early trapper by the name of Jacques LaRamee
built a cabin at the junction of the Laramie and Platte Rivers. Around 1820,
LaRamee was killed by Indians. Although the reasons are unclear, various
landmarks in the region have been named after this trapper. His name was
given to Fort Laramie, Laramie Mountain Range, Laramie County, Laramie Peak,
Laramie River, and the Town of Laramie.
Pioneers traveling west on the Oregon and Mormon Trails followed the fur traders. Some remained to homestead. Increased settlement resulted in rising conflicts with the Indians, and the establishment of Calvary forts to shelter the settlers. The first permanent settlement in the area was Fort Sanders (originally named Fort Buford), built in 1866. This fort was constructed two miles south of the present day City of Laramie.
In 1868 Red Cloud and his Sioux Nation agreed to peace with the settlers.
That same year, the Union Pacific Railroad began to travel across southern
Wyoming. General Grenville Dodge, the railroad's chief surveyor, chose the
site and name of Laramie.
For many reasons, the site was ideal: nearby springs produced millions of
gallons of un-mineralized water, and logs harvested in the Medicine Bow
Mountains were easily floated down the Big Laramie River to Laramie; It was
50 miles from the nearest major city, Cheyenne, as required by the Railroad
Act of 1862; Laramie City also had Fort Sanders close by to assure the
protection of the railroad crew.
The railroad attracted lawless ruffians and the days were wild and wooly. This was typical of the "end of the tracks" communities along the railroad. By the time the first passenger train rolled into town in May of 1868, the city had 23 saloons, one hotel and no churches. It took a vigilante committee to end the lawlessness, and after some 500 vigilantes struck one night in October of that year, Laramie City settled down into a generally peaceful existence.
Laramie City continued as a railroad town for several years, but more changes came to the community with the opening of Wyoming Territorial Prison in 1873 and the establishment of University of Wyoming in 1886.
While the railroad, ranching, and lumber industries would provide continuing bases for the city's economy for many years to come, the university eventually became the city's major employer. Laramie City, which had been a railroad/cow town, transformed into a busy college community.
In 1869, Wyoming became a United States Territory and passed the nation's first women's suffrage legislation. The first jury with women members had been seated in Laramie a few months earlier. A stone monument near First Street & Garfield Street marks the location where the jury met.
The cessation of conflicts with the Indians paved the way for the great cattle drives from Texas, and by 1873 ranching was flourishing in the area. The economy was boosted with the discovery of gold and silver in the mountains, and the establishment of the brought a new era of growth that culminated in the attainment of statehood in 1890.
Today, Laramie is a small, western city that cherishes and celebrates its
roots while growing to meet the future with enthusiastic optimism.
Temperature Stats
The temperatures in Laramie are moderate most of the year.
Annual Average..............................55 high / 27 low
Winter Average...............................41 high / 8 low
Summer Average............................80 high / 37 low
Precipitation Stats
Annual Average...................................10.88"
Average Rainfall..................................6"
Average Snowfall................................36.0"
Average Humidity...............................20%
Average Growing Season...................75 days
Elevation.............................................7165 feet
Average Wind Speed..........................12.8 miles per hour
some virtual places to visit
What's happening, when, and where.
The aim of the center is to get students involved in activities on campus.
Provides a wide range of outdoor activities at a variety of skill levels.
A broad range of coordinated activities for individuals and groups.
Located in Predock's dramatic Centennial Complex on the university campus.
Opportunities for athletic competition.
Providing various health-related facilities to UW students.
Including a campus virtual tour, which provides building locations and
links to their respective colleges, departments and programs. This tour site
also provides parking guides, including handicap accessibility locations and
entrances to facilities.
