Anne Butler named Symposium keynote

Academic departments rotate the honor of choosing the Symposium keynote speaker each year. This year, the social sciences department chose Anne Butler, professor emerita at Utah State University.

Butler holds a special connection with Augustana, previously acting as Professor Matthew Pehl's masters thesis advisor.

"We felt that Dr. Butler would fit the bill nicely," Pehl said.

The talk, entitled "Placing Nuns Inside the Women's West: Convent Archives and Academic Research" will be presented at the Augustana Symposium on Saturday, April 9.

For several years, Butler acted as the editor of the Western Historical Quarterly and has written two books on the topics of prostitution in the West and female prisoners in male penitentiaries in the West.

Her most recent work, which she recently completed a book manuscript on, focuses on Catholic sisters in the West

"Her talk will focus both on the content of her current research as well as the experience of researching this subject," Pehl said.

Looking at Western nuns in many contexts, the presentation will address topics beyond Butler's primary discipline of history.

"Dr. Butler's presentation promises to suggest that the complexity of gender history in the West includes more women than the pioneer, wife, schoolteacher, and prostitute," Symposium organizers said in a press release.

In addition to Butler's presentation, student presentations will be given between 1p.m. and 5 p.m. in the Madsen Center.