JACKSON, Wyo. — History Jackson Hole presents the first annual Western Scholar Series featuring two outstanding national historians: Elliott West and Stephen Aron speaking on the topics of violence, peace, and friendship in the early American West.
“We’re excited to offer diverse programs at the new History Museum, with different styles of programs and presenters. The Western Scholars series will especially expand our local understanding and historical context by connecting our Jackson Hole history to the larger Western region,” said Executive Director Morgan Jaouen.
How Violent was the ‘Wild West’? with Elliott West
Tuesday, August 13, 6:30-7:30 p.m. | Doors open at 6 p.m.
By the popular image, the early American West was a violent land of shootouts in saloons and almost daily clashes between marauding Indians and sturdy homesteaders. Like all cliches, this one is a mix of truth and falsity and everything between. This talk will suggest how we might begin to unscramble that popular impression.
West will take a look at the many forms that violence can take, both then and now, and get some sense of how they compare. He will ask: Just how blood-soaked was the American West, and what can the answers teach us about that place and time that holds such an enduring fascination for so many of us?
The West That Was(n’t): Lessons from an Alternative History of Peace and Friendship with Stephen Aron
Thursday, August 15, 6:30-8 p.m. | Doors open at 6 p.m.
One-hour talk with Stephen Aron followed by a Q&A with Stephen Aron and Elliott West
Drawing on his recent book Peace and Friendship: An Alternative History of the American West, Stephen Aron will illuminate episodes in the history of American westward expansion in which erstwhile enemies overcame their differences—at least for a while.
Aron’s talk will explore how in various places and times peace unexpectedly broke out and foes became friends, why these relations fell apart, what we remember about these episodes, and the lessons museums like the Autry in Los Angeles and the Jackson Hole History Museum might take from them as we ponder the West that was and wasn’t—and the West that might be.
“Both Elliott and Steve, esteemed historians of the American West, are dedicated to bringing their deep understanding of our region’s past to the public. West’s award-winning books tell complex stories in engaging, approachable ways. Steve’s publications do the same. He is also currently Executive Director of L.A.’s Autry Museum, an institution that brings western history to diverse audiences in imaginative and dynamic ways,” said Sherry Smith, historian and History Jackson Hole Board Member.
Both talks are free and open to the public with support from the Wyoming Humanities. The talks will take place on the Rooftop Deck at the Jackson Hole History Museum, 175 East Broadway Avenue, and be followed by a book signing with books available for purchase.
About the Speakers
Elliott West, alumni distinguished professor of history emeritus at the University of Arkansas, is a specialist in the social and environmental history of the American West and in American Indian history. He is the author of eight books, most recently Continental Reckoning: The American West in the Age of Expansion. Four of those books have received national awards. In 2009, he was one of three finalists for the Robert Foster Cherry Award for the outstanding classroom teacher in the nation. In 2017-18 he was the Harmsworth Visiting Professor of American History at the University of Oxford. West was a 2024 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his most recent book Continental Reckoning and featured in Ken Burn’s The American Buffalo documentary in 2023.
Stephen Aron is the Calvin and Marilyn Gross Director and President and CEO of the Autry Museum of the American West and Professor of History, Emeritus at the University of California Los Angeles. He is the author of How the West Was Lost: The Transformation of Kentucky from Daniel Boone to Henry Clay (1996); American Confluence: The Missouri Frontier from Borderland to Border State (2006); The American West: A Very Short Introduction (2015); and Peace and Friendship: An Alternative History of the American West (2022); the co-author of Worlds Together, Worlds Apart: A History of the World from the Beginnings of Humankind to the Present (5th edition, 2017); the co-editor of Trading Cultures: The Worlds of Western Merchants (2001); and the editor of Convergence magazine (2004-2011).
Aron holds degrees from Amherst College (BA 1982) and the University of California, Berkeley (MA 1986; PhD 1990). After completing his doctorate, he joined the faculty at Princeton University, before moving to UCLA in 1996. From 2002-2014, Aron split his appointment between UCLA and the Autry Museum of the American West. At the Autry, he served as the founding executive director and then chair of the Institute for the Study of the American West. In that position, as well as in his role as a consultant for other museums and for numerous television programs, documentaries, and films, he has sought to bridge the divide between “academic” and “public” history.
Visit jacksonholehistory.org for more information.
