The College of Liberal Arts (COLA)’s 2024 Festival of Ideas celebrates Native American culture with lectures from experts in Native American history, keynotes from best-selling Native authors, and the Native American Student Association’s 28th annual powwow. I praise you.
Paul Conrad, associate professor of history, will discuss the importance of Native Americans during key moments in Texas history in his talk, “Why we can’t understand Texas’ history without Native Americans.” The talk will be held on February 29th from 12:30 to 2:00 pm in the Concho Room of the University Center.
On Saturday, March 2nd, the Native American Student Association will hold its 28th Annual Scholarship Benefit Powwow in the Maverick Activity Center (MAC) from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Members of Native American tribes from across Texas and Oklahoma gather for Texas’ largest powwow. The event is free and open to the public and will feature vendors, dancers, singers, community contests for men and women, tacos and fried bread, Indigenous arts and crafts, and more.
New York Times bestselling author David Troyer will conclude this year’s Festival of Ideas with a keynote address at MAC on March 5th from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. The Guggenheim Museum fellows are Ojibwe from the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota. His book, The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee, was a finalist for both the 2019 National Book Award and the Carnegie Medal. He is a professor of English at the University of Southern California and has a background in the history of anthropology.
“Dr. Troyer is the perfect blend of three disciplines, with a creative nonfiction writing style and a background in anthropology and history,” said Rebecca Dean, COLA senior associate dean and professor of political science. says. “Thanks to the collaboration of the Department of History and Associate Dean Les Riding Inn, we were able to organize this wonderful series of events, the Festival of Ideas.”
Started in 2005 with a generous gift from UTA alumnus Mustaq Ahmed ’81, the project has grown into an endowment that funds dynamic programming that showcases unique aspects of the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Did. Dean said the Festival of Ideas helped highlight the breadth and complexity of everything that happens at COLA.
“My hope is that participants will feel excited about learning and discovering new things, and that it will encourage them to take another opportunity to learn something they weren’t naturally interested in,” Dean he said. “I want more people to have intellectual curiosity.”
The event will run from February 29th to March 5th. More information can be found on the Festival of Ideas webpage.