This month I've been sitting in on a different kind of college course. The class, led by West Texas A&M English professor Bonney MacDonald, consists of four hours of open discussion, Monday through Friday for two weeks.
The course is unique for many reasons, perhaps foremost for its location. Students sit around a table in a large, empty room at Mariposa Ranch outside of Amarillo: a section of land dedicated to sustainable and regenerative living. Last Friday we strolled among cacti and yuccas and learned about water catchment systems and sustainable building materials.
Participants this year ranged from ag and history majors to former English majors and interested locals. The spirited discussion veered from the water crisis in the West to what it means to be a Westerner, and what it means to simply exist inside this vast landscape. The varied backgrounds of the students--there were participants from as far away as Philadelphia and California--only added to the richness. One class ended with a vigorous debate about the usefulness of symbols like the Alamo and the Confederate Flag in American culture. On another occasion the conversation took a decidedly spiritual turn, and students mused on the usefulness (or lack thereof) of meditation and trying to be present in the moment. Readings ranged from essays by legendary Western writers like Wallace Stegner and Barry Lopez to pieces by less well known but equally eloquent scribes like Keith Basso and Linda Hogan.
I know of no other course in the region where such a varied group can be found discussing Thoreau one minute and the Dukes of Hazzard the next. It's in courses like this, and in places like Mariposa, that the future of the American West can be found.
The class, entitled "Aridity, Land Perception, and Community in the West," is held by Dr. MacDonald and host Mary Emeny each May at Mariposa Ranch, on north Soncy Road.
