Join us on Thursday, February 11 at 1:00 pm for a History Notes lecture by Dr. Peter Kopp entitled, “Fabian Garcia and the Remaking of New Mexico Agriculture,” at the Branigan Cultural Center.
The influence of Fabian Garcia on the traditions and reputation of New Mexico extend far beyond NMSU. In this talk, Dr. Kopp will explore the long-lasting effects of Garcia’s lifetime of research and advocacy in agricultural science. Come learn about how your kitchen and tastes might be part of his on-going legacy.
Dr. Peter Kopp is an environmental historian with a specialty in the North American West. He teaches public history courses, including museums studies, oral history, and the public history seminar. Dr. Kopp joined the NMSU history department in the fall of 2012 as an assistant professor and the director of the public history program. Much of his work stems from seeking a “sense of place,” or finding meaning in the regions he has inhabited. This has meant researching and writing environmental and cultural histories of Oregon, Nevada, and, most recently, New Mexico and the Southwest borderlands; he also seeks to learn from and engage with these communities via various public history projects. Dr. Kopp’s current book project is called Hoptopia: A World of Agriculture and Beer in Oregon’s Willamette Valley (under contract with the University of California Press), and he is also working on a history of Fabián García, the father of commercial agriculture in New Mexico.
This lecture is part of the Latino Americans: 500 years of history programming series. Latino Americans: 500 Years of History has been made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association.
History Notes, monthly lectures on historical topics, take place on the second Thursday of each month at 1 pm. Lectures are free and open to the public. The 2015 History Notes lecture series features topics related to American Indian Histories and Cultures of the Southwest. Please check our webpage or Facebook for a full listing of these and other Branigan Cultural Center public programs.
The Branigan Cultural Center is located at 501 North Main Street and is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 am to 4:30 pm and Saturday, 9 am to 4:30 pm. For additional information, visit the website at: http://las-cruces.org/museums or call 575.541.2154.
If you need an accommodation for a disability to enable you to fully participate in this event please contact the museum 48 hours prior to the event.