July 2023 Newsletter
OSU Students Experience Taos
From July 3 to July 14, OSU students embarked on an enriching journey to the Doel Reed Center for two intensive weeks of study. The program featured two captivating classes, providing participants with the chance to earn credit hours while immersing themselves in the culturally vibrant surroundings of Northern New
Mexico. See below for course descriptions.
ENGL 4400/5210: Reading the Trees: The Traces of a Disappearing Pastoral
Instructor: Ariel Ross
This course examines the history and culture of sheepherding in New Mexico and the surrounding states, taking as primary texts the carvings left on aspen trees by isolated herders, known as “arborglyphs.” For nearly a century the mountains of the American West were grazing grounds for sheep every summer, and the shepherds charged with these flocks were primarily immigrants, either from South and Central American, or from Basque country in Europe. Though this culture still exists in a few areas, the privatization of open spaces, influence of cattle ranchers, and attention towards ecological conservation have transformed and diminished it. Still, there are traces of sheepherders left on the landscape to read. Students will take advantage of the Carson National Forest to see arborglyphs in person, and discuss how they have been understood in the past. In addition to reading the trees, they will see how sheepherding culture has appeared in literature through selected fiction and non-fiction readings, bolstered by theoretical readings on the larger tradition of pastoral literature in America.
ART 4800: Exploring Taos through Artist Books
Instructor: Mary Claire Becker
Each student in this course combined bookbinding and paper sculpture to design unique artist books that reflected upon and responded to the arts, architecture, and landscape of New Mexico. The course consisted of three activities: excursions, technical demonstrations, and studio time. Students gained inspiration from nature outings and museum visits, learned basic book arts techniques, and then created experimental mock-ups of various book structures as they planned the layout of their final project. For their final project, each student created an artist book that utilized skills learned in the Doel Reed Studio and featured imagery from our travels in New Mexico. For these artworks, students chose the studio medium (or media) of their choice to create imagery to populate their book forms. These included drawings, paintings, printmaking, digital media, writings, or photography. Students will work independently on these projects upon our returning to Oklahoma, and we will meet after the projects’ completion for an art critique and celebration of their accomplishments.
To learn more about Academic Credit Courses and Scholarships available for students wishing to apply, click here.