Ron Scheer

Early cowboys in the 19th century were young, wild, and considered a public nuisance whenever they came into town from herding and trailing cattle on the open ranges. Over time, they became icons of American character, standing for our best national traits: honesty, loyalty, patriotism, courage, determination, and both physical and moral strength. How did an unwashed, uneducated, and untamed hell raiser become a heroic and mythic figure in the American imagination?

Lets look at the cowboy as we find him in history, biography, popular fiction and comics, painting and book illustration, western movies, rodeos, cowboy poetry, western music and folk songs, advertising, politics, and the American West as it is today. Class time will be devoted to readings, films, recordings, and images that reveal how the cowboy has remained at the center of American identity. In short, this seminar will explore the many ways the cowboy has figured into our understanding of ourselves as a nation and as an embodiment of who Americans are as a people. Come prepared to think, talk, discuss, and enjoy.
 
Dr. Scheer is a Senior Lecturer in the Writing Program and Director of the Writing Center. He has taught film, literature and writing. He grew up just west of the 98 th meridian on the Great Plains.
 

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