Growing Up Western: Myths, Legends, and the American Dream    NEW!

Growing up in the American West is an adventure steeped in mythology, the gilded lore of cowboys and Indians, the rugged individualist, tall in the saddle, taming the wilderness, prying a living from the land. That's the legacy. The West was always just west of wherever we were at the time. Kentucky was way west when Daniel Boone carved the Wilderness Road out of the Cumberland Gap. In that sense, we all are a product of the Mythologies of the Modern West. This is a study of conflict between that romantic notion and the practical outcomes of "settling" the region, of trying to come to terms with the iconic images that inspire us and the disquieting realizations that come our way. This class looks at both the legendary and the practical worlds of the Modern West, the real people and their fictional counterparts, the cowboys and Indians ordinary and extraordinary both met along the way, living with the Blackfeet people, and buying movie star Gary Cooper's home. It's the story of a city boy finding his way in the contemporary West that is presented via lecture and multi-media with discussion.