Helmerich Center for American Research

Gregory Hinton, B.A. Buffalo Bill Center of the West Fellow, author, historian. “Curatorial Angst, or the Terrible Doubt of Appearances”

Scholarly tenets frown on shoehorning 21st century labels onto 1900s Victorian subjects, especially where homosexuality is presumed. Speculating on sexual orientation in sentimental poetry, flowery letters and photographs of dancing cowboys was eschewed until recently. From the Gilcrease collection, American painter Alfred Jacob Miller (1810 -1874) offers hidden history clues in his “Rough draught for notes to Indian Sketches”, and his watercolor, “Sir William Drummond Stewart and Antoine (Canadian Half-Breed), n.d. ”

Amy Scott, Ph.D. Director of Women’s and Gender Studies, Associate Professor of History, Bradley University.

“Alice Robertson and Gender Ideals in the Early 20th Century”

Dr. Scott’s presentation will examine the ways in which Alice Robertson both perpetuated and challenged notions of ideal masculinity and femininity in her roles as teacher and missionary, federal bureaucrat, and Congresswoman.

Panel Discussion: Gender and the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch

Laura Arata, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of History, Oklahoma State University.

“Whitewashing and White Hats: Creating the American Cowboy”

Men who worked with cattle had existed for hundreds of years before artists like Charles Russell and showmen like William Frederick Cody popularized the idea of the “cowboy” in the late 19th century. Drawing on heroic ideals, popular imagery of the cowboy quickly transformed the occupation from one of hard, dirty labor often performed by racial minorities to a romanticized ideal. Within just a few decades, cowboys became a distinctly American version of knights in shining armor, rescuing communities and damsels in distress at least as often as wayward cattle. By the time Hollywood gave cowboys white hats to distinguish the good guys for silent film audiences in the early 20th century, popular lore had been so thoroughly whitewashed that it seemed cowboys had always been white, masculine, romantic heroes.

Johanna Blume, M.A. Associate Curator of Western Art, Eiteljorg Museum.

“Lilian Smith and the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show”

Lillian Smith performed as a sharpshooter with the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show under the pseudonym Princess Wenona. Like other women performers in Wild West Shows, Smith had to navigate complex social and cultural expectations of femininity, in a traditionally masculine sphere. Her experiences in the public eye were further complicated by the Native identity she adopted as part of her stage persona.

Tracey Hanshew, Ph.D. Clinical Assistant Professor of History, Washington State University.

“Wear a Bigger Bow: Working Cowgirls Accentuating Femininity in their Masculine Work”

The dime novel image of hyper-masculine men of the 19th century American West lured Anglo-Americans into territories poised to have opportunities for one to reclaim manhood. Yet on ranches where labor assignments were nongender specific, men’s work was taken up by capable women. A regional hegemonic femininity was created in the image of the cowgirl who juxtaposed her masculine occupation with feminine costume to place women in this unique role into the public arena.

Wade Blevins (Cherokee Nation), M.A. Cherokee language teacher, artist.

“Gender in Pre-Columbian Cultures and Native Communities Today”

Mr. Blevins will discuss the concepts of gender and sexual identity in pre-Christian cultures across the Americas by discussing early European accounts, traditional stories and modern roles and thoughts on what are commonly referred to as "two spirits" or "berdache".

The Helmerich Center for American Research houses the Gilcrease Library and Archive, containing more than 100,000 rare books, documents, maps and unpublished works. The collection includes a vast archive of printed documents, dating back to the time of Columbus, that detail Spanish arrival in the New World, as well as documents that tell the stories of the New England colonies, Westward expansion and the experiences of America’s native peoples. To learn more about the Center visit https://gilcrease.org/helmerich-center/.

Panel VIII: Tulsa Artist Fellowship--"Artist from Afar Engaging Oklahoma"

Chair: Laura Fry, Senior Curator and Curator of Art, Gilcrease Museum.

Panelists

Emily Chase, B.F.A., Painting, University of Arkansas.

Rafael Corzo, M.F.A., Alfred University.

Megan Mosholder. M.F.A., Painting, Savannah College of Art and Design.

Moheb Soliman, M.A., OISE-UT in Toronto.

Panel VII: Caribbean Migrations and Dislocations: Comparative Perspectives on Jean Rhys

Chair: Danielle Carlotti-Smith, Ph.D., Public Research Fellow, Oklahoma Center for the Humanities/Adjunct Professor, Global Scholars Programs, University of Tulsa.
"Trajectories of Dislocation: Genealogy, Trauma, and Circular Migration in Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea and Maryse Conde's Desirada"

Panelists

Jacqueline Couti, Ph.D., Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies, University of Kentucky.
"Gendered Poetics of Belonging and Displacement in Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea"

Seungho Lee, Ph.D. Candidate in English, University of Tulsa.
"Reading Jean Rhys' Smile Please: Female Body, Autobiography, and Home"

Panel VI: The Tulsa School: Poetic Departures and Returns

Chair: Grant Jenkins, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English, University of Tulsa.
"The Poets of the 'Tulsa School'"

Panelists

-Oliver Brossard, Ph.D., Associate Professor of American Literature, Universite Paris Est, Marne la Vallee.
"Ron Padgett's 'Poetics of Drift'"

-Greg Kinzer, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English, Austin College.
"'A Fish in His Particular Pond': Migrations of the Everyday in the Tulsa School"

-Lewis Freedman, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor of English, Oklahoma State University.
"The Casual and Permutational Quality to Ted Berrigan's Poem Series 'The Sonnets'"