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Saturday March 4, 2017

National Museum of Wildlife Art - Jackson

Saturday University is a collaborative program connecting popular UW professors with Wyoming residents who have a desire to learn.  Saturday University is sponsored by the University of Wyoming, University of Wyoming Foundation and the Wyoming Humanities Council. The program is presented locally by Central Wyoming College and National Museum of Wildlife Art.

An Economy That Works: Measuring Immigrant Contributions to Teton County

Noah Novogrodsky, Professor of Law, University of Wyoming

Professor Noah Novogrodsky leads a team of law students conducting an economic impact study of the contributions immigrants make to Teton County. The study measures the business impact of immigrant workers, from employees in tourism and hospitality to small-business owners and investors to foreign students who are authorized to work.  Professor Novogrodsky’s discussion of the study reveals how complex immigration debates are, the unique political alliances that surround the subject and what is likely to happen or not happen on immigration matters under a Trump Administration.

Writing the New American West: Postfrontier Literature

Nina S. McConigley, Assistant Professor of Honors, University of Wyoming

Writing about the American West has moved well beyond literature featuring the American Old West or Frontier narratives typically set in the century spanning the late eighteenth and the late nineteenth century. In its place, a new understanding of contemporary western writing is emerging. Sometimes referred to as Positron literature, the more recent literary output of the region tends to engage in a reinterpretation of the region, calling into question the ways in which it has been defined in the past.

The Biology of Sex, Gender and Orientation

Donal Skinner, Professor and Department Chair of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming

From a biological perspective, sexual development and differentiation does not neatly align with societal expectations. During the gestation process, exposure to a variety of hormones “programs” numerous sex organs—the genitalia, the brain and even the heart—to behave in different ways. Recent research elucidates some of the mechanisms guiding this programming and the rich mosaic of potential outcomes they can produce.