Institute for the Study of the American West

Stephen Aron PhD, Executive Director, Institute for the Study of the American West.

Library and Research Services includes the Autry Library and Braun Research Library and provides researchers with access to the marvelous collections of the Autry National Center.

Publications and Scholarship edits the books produced by the Autry National Center, as well as our new magazine, Convergence. This department also develops links between the Autry and academia, as exemplified by the presence of Professor Virginia Scharff, who holds our Women of the West Chair.

Programs assembles the astonishing variety of lectures, workshops, symposia, plays, concerts, film series, artist demonstrations, and family festivals that augment the exhibitions and galleries of the Museum of the American West and the Southwest Museum of the American Indian. Western History Workshops.

Together, the three departments make the Institute a unique entity that stimulates exciting scholarship and disseminates it to a broad audience.

Stephen Aron
Executive Director
Institute for the Study of the American West

2008 Butcher Scholar Award Winner

The Autry National Center Institute for the Study of the American West has chosen Karen McNeill as recipient of the Butcher Scholar Award for 2008 for work on a biography of the celebrated architect, Julia Morgan. McNeill is an Architectural Historian at Carey & Co., Inc., in San Francisco and a recent doctoral graduate from University of California, Berkeley. Her ambitious interdisciplinary project brings together women’s history, biography, and labor history for an in-depth look at a pioneering woman architect. 

The Butcher Award will allow McNeill to complete important and new research on Julia Morgan’s commissions within the San Francisco Bay area Chinese community. 

Established in 2001 by the Women of the West Museum, the Butcher Scholar Award honors the vision, leadership, and generosity of Jane and Charlie Butcher. Each year, this award supports the work of a promising scholar or artist whose project demonstrates innovation and creativity. The award carries a stipend of up to $5,000.

Announcing the Annual
$10,000 Maverick Prize

The Institute for the Study of the American West at the Autry National Center invites nominations for the MAVERICK PRIZE—an annual award to recognize the work of an individual or organization that challenges conventional wisdom and prompts truly novel thinking about the past, present, and future of the American West.  The winner of this prize will receive $10,000 and an invitation to present the work at the Autry National Center.

To nominate, please send a brief statement (no more than 300 words) about your nominee (can be yourself or your organization) to: editor@autrynationalcenter.org. 

Upcoming Programs

Nadine Carson Forum
Named in remembrance of longtime Autry Trustee Nadine Carson, and supported by the generosity of her many friends, this new series of eclectic programs is tied to the Autry National Center’s four key initiatives.* For the inaugural slate of Nadine Carson programs, we showcase the work of individuals and organizations that, true to the maverick ideal, effectively and innovatively challenges conventional wisdom and prompts novel thinking about the past, present, and future of the American West.

Sunday, November 9, 2008 • 3–4:30 pm
Against the Weave:
Basket Making in a Woman’s World
Justin Farmer, one of the first male basket weavers to work in the Diegueño (Ipai) tribal style, talks about what drew him to his pioneering career in a traditionally female activity. Takes place in conjunction with Intertribal Marketplace.
*The Autry’s “Voices of Native America” Initiative invites Native peoples to tell their stories through the Autry’s collections and programs. 
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Saturday, December 13, 2008 • 1–2:30 pm
“The Man Who Listens to Horses”:
An Afternoon With Monty Roberts
Award-winning trainer of championship horses and best-selling author Monty Roberts explains how he developed his world-renowned and revolutionary “Join~Up®” training principles, which embody a nonviolent approach to training horses and treating people.
*The Autry’s “Violence and Justice” Initiative examines violence in both the real and fictional West.
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Saturday, December 13, 2008 • 3–4:30 pm
Men of a Different Nature:
John Muir and Wallace Stegner
Donald E. Worster, author of A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir, and Philip L. Fradkin, author of Wallace Stegner and the American West, discuss their respective new books about these pioneering Western environmentalist. A brief reception and book signing follow.
*The Autry’s “Western Resources” Initiative explores the impact of environmental issues on the life of the West.
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Sunday, January 25, 2009 • 2–4 pm
Cut From a Different Cloth:
Lynn Downey on Levi Strauss
Hear author Lynn Downey speak about the legacy of maverick entrepreneur Levi Strauss. Then see the work of young fashion designers who are creating the innovative clothing of tomorrow. A brief reception follows.
*The Autry’s “West as Crossroads” Initiative addresses the diverse experiences and perspectives of the West’s converging peoples.