The 2004-2005 Annual Public Symposium

Political Legacies of the American West

Held February 26, 2005 on the campus of Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

As recent elections have shown, the politics of the American West defy easy categorization. The presenters in the Clements Center's 2005 annual symposia, The Political Legacies of the American West, organized  by Jeff Roche, move far beyond simple Red and Blue categorizations to show a diverse, complex, and often contradictory political culture. From the demography of the American voter, to the issues that get them to the polls and to the language our national politicians use to get their message across, the West has come to stand for the larger nation. The contributors to The Political Culture consider a variety of topics including: Native American activism, the globalization of resource extraction, urban racial coalitions, modern enviromentalism, plain folk evangelicalism, the evolution of farmers' political ideology, the evolution of Latino political culture, the relationship between western myth and modern conservatism, counterculture libertarianism, micropolitan spaces and hip capitalism, regionalism and liberalism, and the role of memory in regional political culture.

One cannot understand American politics without understanding western politics.  Western politicians, trends, organizations, and movements have driven the American political agenda for much of the century.  Historians will offer original work on key issues, personalities, and themes, offering both stimulating questions and provocative answers about the nature of the political west and its relationship with national politics.

"Anyone interested in the politics of our time should attend this event.  There is much to learn from the research of these historians.”   Texas Governor William P. Clements, Jr. (1979-83, 1987-91).

The essays were published as the edited volume, The Political Culture of the New West, Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2008.  Contributors include: Darren Dochuk, David Farber, Ignacio Garcia, Robert Alan Goldberg, John P. Herron, R. Douglas Hurt, Andrew G. Kirk, Karen Merrill, Jeff Roche, Amy Scott, Bradley Shreve, Michael Steiner, Scott Tang, and David Wrobel.

Organized and edited by:
Jeff Roche, College of Wooster

Sponsored by
The William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies at Southern Methodist University 
With support from SMU’s John G. Tower Center for Political Studies