Program Spotlight
Re-Storying the West
Thanks to generous funding from the Mellon Foundation, three graduate research assistants
are part of a special team engaged in public humanities activities, including working
with experts to deliver community-wide training in storywork, conducting story gathering
sessions around the state, and creating a public-facing archive of contemporary Wyoming
stories.
Who has the power and means to tell our stories? What stories count as valid and survive
over time? Wyoming’s story is too-often told by visitors seeking fantasy through the “romance
of the West,” “the dangerous adventure of the frontier,” and “the solace of wide-open
spaces.” As some stories are amplified, more are lost. Wyoming is complex and multivocal,
a fabric woven from lived experiences encompassing a wide range of communities.
Re-Storying the West sits at three overlapping knowledge-making traditions: Field
Rhetorics, Oral History, and Indigenist Storywork Ethics. The project gathers contemporary
stories of everyday Wyomingites through collaborative conversational interviews produced
into sharable stories for public consumption. Who counts as a “Wyomingite”? Anyone
who feels a sense of belonging and investment in our state strong enough to claim
the title. Deep inclusivity is the goal. We gather stories from rural and city communities;
from individuals of all stripes, backgrounds, and professions; and from voices we
don't often hear.
The grant supports a core team of people: Associate Professor Nancy Small serves as project leader working closely with graduate
assistants. Our research team will expand through several new tenure-line hires who
will onboard in fall 2025 and fall 2026. Beyond this team, folks in the broader university
and state community can get involved through student-centered activities at undergraduate
and graduate levels, an annual program of sub-awards, professional development sessions,
and/or volunteering their time.
Contact Re-Storying the West at storytelling@uwyo.edu
Story-gathering events
The "Re-Storying the West" story-gathering team attended the Matthew Shepard Symposium
for Social Justice. They presented an hour-long session titled, " The Truth About
Stories: A Collaborative Storywork Session,” during which they described the grant-funded
activities and the development of the website and podcast, as well as what happens
when you re-think of stories as "gifts" rather than "data." In addition to the talk,
the team staffed a day-long story-gathering room. Eleven folks stopped by to share
their stories and reflections regarding the Symposium's theme of "common ground."
Some of those stories will be posted on the Re-Storying the West website, which will
launch at the end of 2024.
