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Humanities at GBC

While the HC@gbc is new, the committment of GBC's students, faculty, and staff is long-standing. Below are some of the many humanities activities being undertaken at GBC.

Featuring

Recent Events!

Author Visit with Morgan Jerkins

Author Morgan Jerkins' photo and the cover of her book Wandering in Strange Lands.What: Author Visit with Morgan Jerkins
When: Thursday February 15, 2024 5-6 pm PT

Video of Author Visit with Morgan Jerkins

Join the Humanities Center at GBC and Nevada Humanities in a discussion with Nevada Reads author Morgan Jerkins about her book

Wandering in Strange Lands. Copies of Nevada Reads books are available at all GBC Campuses.

About the book and author:

Wandering in Strange Lands: In this fascinating and deeply personal exploration, she recreates her ancestors’ journeys across America, in a movement known as The Great Migration. Following in their footsteps, Jerkins seeks to understand not only her own past, but the lineage of an entire group of people who have been displaced, disenfranchised, and disrespected throughout our history. Through interviews, photos, and hundreds of pages of transcription, Jerkins braids the loose threads of her family’s oral histories, which she was able to trace back 300 years, with the insights and recollections of black people she met along the way—the tissue of Black myths, customs, and blood that connect the bones of American history.

Morgan Jerkins is the author of the New York Times bestseller This Will Be Undoing, as well as the critically acclaimed books, Wandering In Strange Lands and Caul Baby. She holds a Bachelor’s in Comparative Literature from Princeton University and an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars. Jerkins is a Forbes 30 Under 30 Leader in Media alumna, a 2021 ASME Next recipient for her literary initiative at Medium’s ZORA, and an ASME Award winner for co-editing a special issue on the 10th anniversary of Trayvon Martin and the Black Lives Matter movement for New York Magazine.

This event is made possible by the support of: Nevada Humanities, The National Endowment for the Humanities, The Humanities Center at GBC and Great Basin College.


New Gallery Exhibits at GBC!

Home Means Nevada shines bright at GBC!

What: Home Means Nevada: Photo Exhibit
When: Now - May 17, 2024
Where: GBC Art Gallery in the Leonard Center for Student Life (LCSL)

Home Means Nevada, an NTI-Traveling Exhibition, is themed around Nevada’s state song of the same title, is a photography exhibit that echoes famous photographs and artwork from the late 1800s and early 1900s that helped spur protections for places like Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. Nevada is a place of inspiration for the photographers who find beauty in her rugged geology and starry skies. This show features 15 photographers and highlights some of the unique treasures found on federally managed lands across the state, from bighorns to Burning Man, to the ancient rock art and petroglyphs in the Gold Butte area.

The exhibit artists include: Sam Davis, Cedar City UT; Olin Feuerbacher, Pahrump NV; Peter Goin, Reno NV; Kelly Carroll, Hagatna, GU; Mike Hill, Las Vegas NV; Julian Kilker, Las Vegas NV; Kurt Kuznicki, Reno NV; Bruce Loeffler, Las Vegas NV; Alan O’Neill, Henderson NV; Robert Park, Las Vegas NV; Will Roger Petersen, Gerlach NV; Kimberly Reinhart, Henderson NV; Deon Reynolds, Eureka NV; Sharon K. Schafer, Henderson NV; and Cristian Torres, Las Vegas NV.

This exhibit is part of the Nevada Arts Council’s Nevada Touring Initiative-Traveling Exhibition Program, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the State of Nevada. The Nevada Arts Council is a division of the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs.

Bristlecone Pine photograph.

Kelly Carroll, Standing Stately: The Ancient Bristlecone Pine, photograph.

Desert Bighorn Sheep  photograph.

Sharon K. Schafer, Canyons Now Memories: Desert Bighorn Sheep, photograph.


Western Shoshone Arts: living traditions, living culture

What: Western Shoshone Arts: living traditions, living culture
When: Now - February 16, 2024
Where: Greenhaw Technical Arts Center Lobby Gallery (GTA)

Western Shoshone Arts: living traditions, living culture is an extensive collection of contemporary and traditional art and craft, including meticulously crafted baskets, cradleboards, beadwork and much more. The exhibit is on loan from the Elko Band Council and Western Shoshone artist and teacher, Leah Brady. On display through February 16, 2024 in the Greenhaw Technical Arts Center Lobby Gallery (GTA).

Image of a beaded butterfly.

Photo Credit:

Western Shoshone Arts: Beaded Hair Piece by Roger Ike, Western Shoshone. From the Leah Brady Collection.


Honest Horses: a portrait of the mustang in the Great Basin

What: Honest Horses: a portrait of the mustang in the Great Basin
When: Now - February 16, 2024
Where: GBC Art Gallery in the Leonard Center for Student Life (LCSL)

Honest Horses: a portrait of the mustang in the Great Basin is a portrait of the Mustang in the Great Basin and features giclee prints of 21 hand-painted photographs and presents an uncommon view that demonstrates the significance of the wild horse in the American West. On display through February 16, 2024 in the GBC Art Gallery in the Leonard Center for Student Life (LCSL). Honest Horses was Curated by Paula Morin for the Nevada Arts Council’s Nevada Touring Initiative (NTI), funded by the National Endowment for the Arts & the State of Nevada.

Illustration of four wild horses running.

Photo Credit:

Honest Horses: Paula Morin, © The Phantom and the Broomtail, 2000, giclee print made from hand painted, black & white photograph, Nevada Arts Council Collection.


Free Talk and Q & A with Jeff Mundell!

Photo of Jeff Mundell in ranch gear, riding a horse.

WHAT: Agriculture in Unexpected Places
WHEN: Thursday February 1, 2024 4–5:30pm
WHERE: Greenhaw Technical Arts (GTA) 130, Great Basin College
Live & on Zoom
SURVEY: Agriculture in Unexpected Places

Jeff Mundell shifts the archetype of what it means to be a “cowboy,” while offering knowledge deeply rooted in rural practices. Jeff’s goal is to spur a regenerative grazing movement that connects landscapes and crosses divides. He has explored possibilities such as bridging the rural-urban gap through voltaic agriculture practices and increased grazing near city infrastructure, creating migration corridors for wildlife that can be managed with domestic grazers, and incentivizing private landowners to promote biodiversity and food security while keeping people working on the land. Join Jeff to talk about agriculture—and “cowboy culture”—in places you might not have expected.

Jeff Mundell
San Juan Bautista, CA

Growing up as a lost kid in town, Jeff Mundell was captivated by the allure of buckaroos–and their embodiment of freedom and resilience. Remarkable mentors guided him in the ways of early California-style horsemanship, craftsmanship, stockmanship, and art, igniting in him a deep love for the culture and its people. Jeff has dedicated his existence to unraveling the intricacies of this way of life and advocating for its significance in today's fast-paced, technology-driven world. Currently serving as the manager of the Rancho Cienega del Gabilan, Jeff finds himself at the forefront of discussions centered around safeguarding open spaces, managing vegetation for fire fuel reduction, combating invasive species, creating wildlife connectivity, and enhancing ecosystem function on rangelands. Through involvement in these critical conversations, he seizes every opportunity to convey the relevance of this horse culture and our role as stewards of the vast landscapes of the American West.

This free event was made possible by: The Western Folklife Center, Humanities Center at Great Basin College, Nevada Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

GBC Book Club graphic.

National Endowment for the Humantities logo graphic.

“To the man who only has a hammer in the toolkit, every problem looks like a nail.” -Abraham Maslow

…a digital humanities center developed by great basin college because 'humanities matter' ♥