The Mountain West Center partners with a variety of organizations that help encourage an understanding of the Interior West. We provide funds to several journals, archives, and museums on campus, and we participate in various off-campus organizations as well.
Journals
Anthropology of Consciousness
The Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness (SAC) is an interdisciplinary academic organization and a section of the American Anthropological Association dedicated to the study of consciousness phenomena in cultures around the world. Bonnie Glass-Coffin of USU's Anthropology Program is the current editor of the journal.
Isotope: A Journal of Literary Nature and Science Writing
Isotope honors the tradition of nature writing - while moving beyond it (even challenging it) with a wide range of work that engages such fields as astronomy, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, sexuality, urban ecosystems, restoration ecology, physics and math. Christopher Cokinos of the USU English Department is the editor.
Western American Literature
This is the journal of the Western Literature Association. Jointly published by the Western Literature Association and Utah State University , Western American Literature is the leading journal in western American literary studies. The journal editor is Melody Graulich of the USU English Department.
Western Historical Quarterly
This is the official journal of the Western History Association (http://www.umsl.edu/~wha/ ). Founded in 1961, the Western History Association exists to promote the study of the North American West in its varied aspects and broadest sense. The journal editor is David Rich Lewis of the USU History Department. Mountain West Center funds help support the production of the journal and a graduate student fellowship.
Museums and Archives
Fife Folklore Archives
The Fife Folklore Archives is one of the largest repositories of American folklore in the United States , including a large collection of cowboy poetry and song, Utah and western music, and a large photographic collection of folk and ethnic arts from the West. The curator is Randy Williams.
Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art
The museum's collection of more than 4,300 objects is one of the largest in the Intermountain region and represents a century of collecting by Utah State University . Works in all media by modern and contemporary artists provide an extensive overview of creative endeavors from 1900 to the present day, with an emphasis on objects made by artists living or working in the western half of the United States . The museum director is Victoria Rowe Berry.
USU Museum of Anthropology
The Museum of Anthropology is a teaching museum and introduces visitors to the field of Anthropology. Each exhibit is designed by students and focuses on ideas such as how human lives change, how we share knowledge, produce art, and practice religion. The museum coordinator is Mary Kay Gabriel.
USU Special Collections and Archives
The mission of the Division of Special Collections and Archives is to collect, preserve and make available for the use of students, faculty, scholars and the general public, the special collections materials of the Utah State University libraries. Special Collections and Archives encompasses materials that due to uniqueness, fragility, age, rarity, unusual format, monetary value or subject emphasis, the libraries have elected to place in a secure, monitored, closed-stack environment. The department head is Brad Cole.
Off-Campus Partners
Bear River Heritage Area
The Bear River Heritage Area is a seven-county region in southeastern Idaho and northern Utah . Its focus is the promotion of heritage tourism and the preservation of local culture. The Mountain West Center supervised students who conducted field research to identify the hidden cultural resources of the region.
Beehive Archive
The Beehive Archive is a two-minute radio program that provides a look at some of the most pivotal and peculiar events in Utah history. In partnership with the Utah Humanities Council, the Mountain West Center staff researches, writes, and records programs for this award-winning series.
Community History Initiative
This is a new program sponsored by the Utah Humanities Council and the Utah Division of State History. It is focused on helping people write the histories of their communities and incorporates oral history, archival work, and more. Watch for more information on this project as it develops.
Utah War Sesquicentennial Committee
The Mountain West Center is a member of this committee made up of historians from major universities, the Utah Division of State History, the LDS Church Historical Department, and other entities. The committee was formed to oversee academic and public activities commemorating the Utah War of 1857-58. The Utah War was the unprecedented but now little-known armed confrontation between the U.S. government and the civil-religious leadership of Utah Territory . It was prompted by the Buchanan administration's 1857 replacement of Brigham Young as territorial governor following nearly a decade of deteriorating relationships between Washington and Salt Lake City over power and authority in Utah . Two books, a play, a young people's poster contest, and other activities have emerged from this work.