Beyond the Rim: The Life and Times of the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon of the Colorado is multi-layered – in many ways. Geologically complex, historically contested, biologically diverse, it is a place at the center of competing claims and histories. Geological wonder, national park, sacred ground of the Hopis and the Zunis, wilderness area, archeological treasure, tourist attraction, and vital source of water for the desert southwest and beyond, Grand Canyon has historic, symbolic, economic and developmental importance that manifests in clashes of cultures, interests and communities.
This colloquium will explore Grand Canyon in its many aspects, noting its role in the rise of conservation movements, the development of the desert Southwest, and the struggle between various claimants to the land and the water, and will interrogate the question of how we understand wilderness and its uses. Texts will include geological studies, archeological materials, conservation and wilderness writings, creation stories of the Zuni and Hopi peoples and a forthcoming backcountry management plan for Grand Canyon National Park, the first such plan issued since 1988.
Course taught by
Karen L. Wood