The Pat Guthrie Special Exhibitions Teaching Gallery presents four installations of artwork, each specific to a course taught during the Spring 2023 semester at the University of Wyoming. Faculty from a range of academic disciplines select artwork from our permanent collection to support the content and learning goals of their respective classes.
This method of object-based teaching and learning invites inquiry, curiosity, and creative thinking into the student’s educational experience. These skills are tools to prepare our future workforce and leaders, no matter their path, and help enliven the cultural experience in Wyoming.
This semester, we welcome students and faculty from the following UW classes and departments into the museum:
Dr. Allison Caine, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
ANTH 4350/5350: Medical Anthropology
Medical anthropology is the study of health, well-being, illness, and healing from a cross-cultural perspective. The artwork selected for this class supports the exploration of the human body as a cultural phenomenon. Questions we explore throughout the semester include: Are bodies everywhere the same? What does it mean to be well across the human experience? Do we feel, suffer, and recover from afflictions differently depending on our cultural background? Medical anthropology challenges students to rethink conventional dichotomies of biology/culture, body/mind, science/religion, and healing/harm by examining a plurality of cultural practices and understandings. This class promotes the comparative, critical study of biomedicine, global health, and the intersections of health with colonialism, globalization, capitalism, and development.
Dr. Meredith Minear, Associate Professor, Psychology
PSYC 4200: Sensation and Perception
This course examines the behavioral and brain processes involved in sensing and perceiving the world. The artwork selected for this class provides a few concrete examples of concepts covered throughout the semester such as color, depth perception, and object recognition. Students develop a solid understanding of how our senses receive and process information from the initial receptors all the way to conscious awareness.
Dr. Nikolas Sweet, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
ANTH 4785/5785: Language and Racism
This course examines the relationships between language and racism in a complex world. It is premised upon the recognition that power is exercised through language. Since we articulate identities largely through language, dimensions such as ethnicity, race, and caste can be explored through linguistic practices. Using scholarship from linguistic anthropology as a touchstone, this course examines the institutional settings, everyday interactions, and language ideologies through which race is constituted. Artworks selected for this class serve as an additional lens through which the roles of language in society can be explored. Although this course focuses on questions of race and racism, it will help students carefully think through the role of language in social life.
Dr. Randa Jabbour, Associate Professor, Plant Sciences
PLNT 1000: Agroecology
In Agroecology, students learn and apply ecological principles to identify and design sustainable agricultural practices. We grapple with several big questions throughout the semester; how do we maximize crop production to “feed the world?” How can we produce crops while conserving soil and water, managing pests sustainably and effectively, and mitigating the impact of a changing climate? The artwork selected for this course supports ongoing dialogue about the complexities of agroecology’s grand challenges.
Images:
Randell Jay Hopkins American, 20th century House With Trees 1981, Oil on canvas 40 x 50 inches, Gift of Mr. Randall J. Hopkins, 1982.39.0
Rachel Concho, Hopi, b.1936, Seed pot, Late 20th Century, Pigment on ceramic, 3-3/4 x 5-1/4 inches,Gift of James R. Nolan, 1997.10.2
There is no admission fee for the art museum. We are free for visitors of all ages.
Tuesday - Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Closed Sunday and Monday
2111 East Willett Drive
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307) 766-6622
Email: uwartmus@uwyo.edu
