Center of the West Centennial Year highlighted by symposia

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is celebrating its Centennial throughout 2017. Along with events, programs, and posts highlighting the past one hundred years and looking ahead to the next century, we hosted several symposia on a variety of subjects. Take a look at the brief summaries below, and then click on the links to find out more about each specific symposium.

Past Symposia:

Arsenals of History: Firearms and Museums in the 21st Century

Monday–Tuesday, July 17–18, 2017

Presented by our Cody Firearms Museum, this symposium is divided into two days, with the first day free and open to the general public, and the second day open only to museum professionals seeking to improve their knowledge in how to deal with firearms in museum collections. Museums with firearm collections face unique challenges and interpretive questions. We are coming together as authorities in the field to begin creating practical guidelines for museums with firearms.

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Forged and Founded: Western American Sculpture, A Centennial Symposium

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Presented by our Whitney Western Art Museum, this symposium convenes top art historians and trailblazing contemporary artists for an examination of western American sculpture of the past, present, and future. The multifaceted program holds appeal for scholars, professionals, students, and art and history enthusiasts with a range of interests. Coordinated with an eye toward variety, interactivity, and accessibility, Forged and Founded takes an innovative and engaging approach to scholarship on western sculpture.

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Recent Advances at High Elevation

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Co-hosted by the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and the Park County Historic Preservation Commission, this free symposium presented topics in the field of High Elevation Archaeology. Learn what is revealed by melting ice patches, as well as the extent that these high elevation places have been used over the past 10,000 years. The event takes place the day before the Wyoming Archaeological Society’s spring meeting in Cody May 5–7, 2017.

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Buffalo Bill Centennial Symposium

Wednesday–Saturday, August 2–4, 2-17

The hundredth anniversary of William F. Cody’s death provides the occasion for scholars to reexamine his legacy and consider new directions in scholarship. This symposium, presented by the Papers of William F. Cody, considers his life and enterprises in the context of American Western Studies, including his place in the regional history of settlement, in the popularization of frontier nationalism in America and abroad, and in the development of Western historiography.

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