The Water Commons: Living Legacies of Utah Waterways
Co-hosted with Environmental Humanities and the American West Center, and the School of Environment, Society and Sustainability.
In collaboration with humanities centers in Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes.
This symposium works to coordinate efforts to preserve the waterways that are the basis of life, health, and prosperity for all life in Utah.
Gather with local water scholars, stewards, and artists to learn about ongoing projects, discover practices of stewardship from stakeholders across the state, and participate in fostering networks for further collaboration.
We will share strategies of sustainability and water management as well as oral history and art projects to document and preserve stories and histories of the Colorado River, the Bear River, Great Salt Lake, and Utah Lake.
Free and open to public and academic audiences.
Speakers and presenters
Lisa Bickmore, Utah Poet Laureate
Brian Codding, Professor of Anthropology
University of Utah
Brigham Daniels, Professor of Law and Co-Director, Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment
University of Utah
Joshua Graham, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History
University of Utah
Teri Harman, Masters candidate in Environmental Humanities
University of Utah
Daniel Hernandez, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Utah Valley University
Leia Larsen, Water and Land Use Reporter
The Salt Lake Tribune
Beth Parker, Assistant Professor of Law and Wallace Stegner Research Fellow
University of Utah
Brad Parry, Tribal Council Vice Chairman for Natural Resources
Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation
Paisley Rekdal, Distinguished Professor of English and Creative Writing
University of Utah
Marian Rice, Associate Director, Peak Water Sustainability Engine
University of Utah
Jack Schmidt, Janet Quinney Lawson Chair and Director of the Center for Colorado River Studies
Utah State University
Nan Seymour, Poet
Making Waves Artist Collaborative
Gregory Smoak, Professor of History
University of Utah
Complete program will be available in August, 2025.
For updates and announcements, join our mailing list by emailing beth.james@utah.edu
