Archaeologist Edgar Lee Hewett at Caroline Bridge, Utah. Courtesy/School for Advanced Research (SAR Archive, AC 2:832)
Nancy Owen Lewis
Los Alamos Historical Society News:
The Los Alamos Historical Society’s lecture series for 2019-2020 will open Sept. 10 with Nancy Owen Lewis speaking on Surviving Edgar Lee Hewett: His Battles and Enduring Legacy.
Edgar Lee Hewett, founding director of the Museum of New Mexico and the School for Advanced Research, left an incredible legacy in institutions and traditions, some of which were established in protest to him. The discussion is framed around five major battles, the outcomes of which had a lasting impact on our culture.
The achievements of this remarkable man, and both the loyalty and conflict he inspired, are described in this illustrated presentation.
Hewett was an archaeologist and anthropologist who left his mark on preserving Southwest history as few people have, and along the way he never suffered from a lack of self confidence.
His drive to achieve often caused clashes with colleagues. Despite those times of discord, his accomplishments and impact are still felt in many ways throughout the Southwest. Perhaps his most wide-reaching contribution was his work and dedication that led to the passage of the Antiquities Act of 1906, legislation that helped preserve many of our precious cultural resources.
Nancy Owen Lewis is a scholar-in-residence and former director of scholar programs at the School for Advanced Research (SAR). In 2007, she co-authored with Kay Hagen A Peculiar Alchemy: A Centennial History of SAR (SAR Press).
She is also the author of the award-winning Chasing the Cure in New Mexico: Tuberculosis and the Quest for Health (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2016).
Lewis currently serves on the board of the Historic Santa Fe Foundation. She is vice president of the Historical Society of New Mexico and a fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology. She received her doctorate in anthropology from the University of Massachusetts and previously taught anthropology at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and the University of Arkansas.
The 2019-2020 Lecture Series is sponsored by Robin and Richard McLean. Lectures are open to the public and are held at 7:30 p.m. in Fuller Lodge.
Upcoming presentations this autumn are the screening of the video La Tierra Quemada (The Burning Ground), produced by Cary Skidmore and Los Alamos National Laboratory, on Oct. 8 and a lecture titled Joseph Rotblat: A Singular Figure in 20th Century Nuclear Politics by Jeffrey Boutwell on Nov. 12.
The Los Alamos Historical Society Lecture Series will resume in January. Look for further announcements.
