the john muir exhibit - uop - center
The John Muir Center for Environmental Studies
University of the Pacific
The John Muir Center was established in 1989 to encourage greater use of the John Muir Papers by the scholarly community and to promote the study of California and its impact upon the global community. The John Muir Papers, housed in the University library's Holt-Atherton Special Collections, are among the University's most important resources for scholarly research of John Muir, who remains one of California's most important historical figures, with global impact.
In an effort to continue Muir's legacy as a guardian of the environment, the John Muir Center encourages students to get involved in sustainability and green initiatives at Pacific. One avenue for involvement is joining a student organization that focuses on the environment and sustainability.
The Center's goals include:
- foster a closer academic relationship between UOP and the
larger community of scholars, students, and citizens interested in
environmental udies;
- provide greater opportunities for research and publication by
UOP faculty and students;
- offer opportunities for out-of-classroom learning experiences;
- promote multi-disciplinary curriculum development.
Program Activities
These objectives are implemented through a variety of activities
sponsored and promoted by the John Muir Center, including:
- John Muir Newsletter - published until 2015. This was an excellent quarterly publication with articles, book reviews and
news of interest to Muir scholars; back issues are still valuable and are available online in digital format.
- Periodic seminars and workshops to offer faculty, students and
other scholars a forum for presenting Environmental research results, to
discuss ways and methods of utilizing Environmental resources in ongoing
classes, and to facilitate multi-disciplinary planning and
programs;
- Grant projects designed to raise special funds for faculty and
student research, for a computerized database and bibliography for
the John Muir Papers, for collection development, and for Environmental
history projects such as the Bank of Stockton project to catalog
and make computer-accessible a major collection of historical
Environmental photographs;
- Course offerings and internship with a regional or environmental emphasis.
Courses are offered by a number of departments, including Biology, English,
Geology/Geography, History, Political Science, Philosophy, Chemistry, Engineering, and Economics.
- In addition to traditional papers and library research using primary sources held by the University, students have conducted first-hand video interviews of knowledgeable community members as well as created digital media and websites on who John Muir was, his importance, his legacy, and his impact.
- The John Muir Center:
- facilitates the utilization, coordination, and marketing of existing
courses having an environmental scope or emphasis;
- offers support services for faculty interested
in adding an environmental component to ongoing courses;
- encourages the utilization of intercession, summer school, and vacation times for specialized offerings in an environmental context;
- assists faculty interested in team-teaching or
pooling courses with an environmental emphasis in order to promote
multi-disciplinary curricular development.
- The John Muir Center hosts a regular symposium with a thematic emphasis on some
aspect of regional/environmental studies.
The California History Institute,
started at the University of the Pacific in 1954 by "Mr. California",
Dr. Rockwell Hunt, and subsequently sponsored by the John Muir Center
and its predecessors, has been enlarged and incorporated into this
annual symposium. See abstracts and information about these symposia here:
- 1980 The World of John Muir - An illustrated book jacket summary of the University's first John Muir confrence, (from the book's front matter), including the table of contents and author biographies.
- 1985 John Muir: Life and Legacy - reprint from The Pacific Historian , Vol, 29, Numbers 2 & 3 (Summer/Fall 1985)
- 1990 John
Muir: Life and Work (1993) - publisher's press release about
this book based on papers presented at the 1990 John Muir conference
- 1993:
John Muir: Life and Work,
by the University of New Mexico Press; a new volume based on the presentations made to the California History Institute in 1996, entitled
John Muir in Historical Perspective
was published in 1999;
- 1996 John Muir Conference Abstracts of Papers - by University of the Pacific
- 2001 John Muir Conference (off-site link): The 2001 conference resulted in published proceedings: John
Muir: Family, Friends, and Adventures (2005) - publisher's press
release and book
jacket and table of contents about this book derived
from papers presented at the 2001
John Muir Conference.
- 2006 Conference: John Muir in Global Perspective.
- 2010 Conference: John Muir: Naturalist and Scientist
- 2014 Conference : What has been saved; what has been lost:
John Muir's Legacy, 1914-2014
- 2018 Conference: The Practical John Muir
- 2019 John Muir Legacy Fair and Celebration of Muir-Hanna family's gift of John Muir Papers- Program, Presentations, and Details
- 2022 Muir Symposium: New Perspectives on Peoples and Parks - April 23, 2022 at University of the Pacific. This year's Symposium explored Muir's world in the context of his influence on creation of parks and other natural areas. In addition to discussion on Muir and race, the conference explored other questions dealing with racial history more broadly: for whom were parks created and who has had open access to "America's Best Idea?"
Staff
Director: William Swagerty, Ph.D., University of the Pacific
(Although Dr. Swagerty is retiring in 2023, the University will continue the mission of the John Muir Center through its wide-ranging programs.)
For Further Information
For further information contact the staff at
The John Muir Center for Environmental Studies (official website)
University of the Pacific
3601 Pacific Avenue
Stockton, California 95211
Phone: (209) 946-2527
Fax: (209) 946-2578
E-mail:
johnmuir@uop.edu
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