Legacies of the Expedition

As the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition draws to a close, it’s only fitting that the College’s fourth and final symposium focuses on the legacies of this historic journey.

The Legacies symposium, which is slated for September 29-30, will attempt to determine where exploration is headed in the 21st century and will provide a forum for reflection on what has been learned about the expedition during the three years of the national commemoration.

Participants will discuss the aftermath of the expedition, including response to the publication of the journals; the subsequent lives, careers, and reputations of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark; the displacement of American Indians; Sacagawea as a cultural construct; and the impact of the expedition on the idea of the American West.

In addition, the College will mount Artists and Specimens: Documenting Contemporary Experience, a related art exhibition, in the Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art from September 7 through October 22.

Featured Speakers

Author Ian Frazier will deliver the symposium’s keynote address, “There Went the Neighborhood: The American West Since Lewis and Clark,” on the evening of September 30. Frazier is a regular essayist for the New Yorker  and has written several novels, including On the Rez and the national bestseller Great Plains.

Other featured speakers include Gerald Torres (Indian law), from the University of Texas at Austin; Patricia Limerick (author of the award-winning The Legacy of Conquest), from the University of Colorado at Boulder; Jay Buckley (William Clark expert), from Brigham Young University; John Logan Allen (history of American cartography), from the University of Wyoming; Elliott West (patterns in American history), from the University of Arkansas; and Charles Wilkinson (author of Crossing the Next Meridian), from the University of Colorado School of Law.

Lewis & Clark faculty will participate as well. Jane Hunter, professor of history and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will discuss Sacagawea and her legacy. Clay Jenkinson will emcee the two-day symposium and deliver his final presentation as humanities scholar in residence for the College.

Registration

Frazier’s keynote address at the Newmark Theatre costs $20 for general admission and $15 for students and seniors. A limited number of tickets are available at the bookstore in Templeton Student Center.

The cost of the symposium at Lewis & Clark is $50 for Friday and Saturday (including lunch both days) and $35 for a single day (including lunch). To register, contact the bicentennial programs office at 503-768-7207 or bicprog@lclark.edu.