Shanelands: The Construction and Maintenance of Dominant Narratives in the American West

Every summer, the Bill Lane Center sponsors student research projects. Students have the option of designing their own project or joining pre-existing Bill Lane Center research. With an interest in visual storytelling and American cultural narratives, Trinity Gardner, '25, created a self-designed project that explored dominant myths of the American West through photography and music while documenting a personal journey of reconnection with family.

Student: Trinity Gardner, ’25, Art and American Studies
Mentor: Kai Carlson-Wee (American Studies/English)

Project Description:
In this project, Trinity set out to investigate how dominant narratives in the West are constructed and maintained, while also examining how they intersect with personal histories and identities.

Trinity’s project, titled Shanelands, combined travel, family reconnection, and artistic production. Over the course of the summer, she traveled to locations significant to both her family history and to the cultural mythology of the American West. Along the way, she reconnected with her previously estranged father and documented the journey through photography. These photographs were paired with a collection of original songs that reflect personal reflection and cultural critique. Through the synthesis of photography and music, Shanelands examines how narratives about the West are constructed while offering an alternative perspective grounded in lived experience, family memory, and artistic interpretation.