Small Speculations

Nancy Small
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Dr. Nancy Small and her amazing students at the University of Wyoming take on semester-long topics of study including public memory, storytelling, strategies for civic discourse, and more. Join us to hear about and learn through their projects, many of which are situated right here in Laramie. Each season is written and produced by a particular class. For spring 2023, we’re starting with nine talented folks analyzing local sites of public memory.

  1. 11/19/2025

    Season 2, Ep.7: Now Let Us Tell The Whole Story with Two Peas, One Pod

    On this episode of Small Speculations, Alyssa and Hannah are telling their full stories from their public memory project. They take us through the emotional re-telling of their places of public memory that have been forgotten, erased, or lost. By telling these stories and doing the research, these two are making a difference in the eyes of public memory. We hope you enjoy hearing what they have been working hard on all semester.  More on Our Sites:  UW Lab School Staff Speak Out Against Closing  Topics of the Black 14  Sources:  Connerton, Paul. “Seven Types of Forgetting.” Memory Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 2008, pp. 59–71.Simon, Nina. The Art of Relevance. Museum 2.0, 2016.

  2. 11/13/2025

    Season 2, Ep6: To Remember or Not to Remember, That is the Question

    In this episode of Small Speculations, Payton, Sadie, and Hilde dive deep into the specific stories they have dedicated to their public memories. They start by detailing the specific wording and class readings they incorporated into their stories. Then they each discuss their stories that they have been building towards all semester. Next, they touch on what relevance these stories hold both past and present, and why they have been erased in public memory. Finally, they discuss what they wish they could have done differently if they had more time, and close out with their final goodbye. Sources: Dunn, Thomas. "'The Quare in the Square': Queer Memory, Sensibilities, and Oscar Wilde." Quarterly Journal of Speech, 100, 2, 2014, 213-240. Rice, Jennifer H., et al. “Memory and Lost Communities: Strange Methods for Studying Place.” Review of Communication, vol. 20, no. 2, 2020, pp. 144–151. Schulz, Kathryn. "Citizen Khan." The New Yorker, 13 June 2016.

  3. 10/31/2025

    Season 2, Ep5: Ephemera, Ghosts, and Hanging off a Banister with The Girly Pops, Part 2

    In this episode of Small Speculations, Sadie Ring, Payton Hans, and Hide Ball continue to dive deeper into their sites of public memory. They discuss their research methods, activities on place-making, and interests and challenges about their sites. They also give a little bit of insight on what they want to focus on moving forward in their public memory projects. Special shout-out to the American Heritage Center, especially Brie Blasi and John Waggener, for their help in our research efforts. Sources Rice, Jennifer H., et al. “Memory and Lost Communities: Strange Methods for Studying Place.” Review of Communication, vol. 20, no. 2, 2020, pp. 144–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/15358593.2020.1737193. Oral History Association. “OHA Core Principles.” Oral History Association, https://oralhistory.org/oha-core-principles/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025. Le Carmichael. “Research for Writers: How to Interview an Expert.” Le Carmichael, 7 Dec. 2020, lecarmichael.ca/2020/12/research-for-writers-how-to-interview-an-expert/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025. Seidel, Ed. “A Message from the President: Update on DEI Response.” University of Wyoming News, 22 Aug. 2024, www.uwyo.edu/news/2024/08/a-message-from-the-president-update-on-dei-response.html.

  4. 10/20/2025

    Season 2, Ep4: The Fire Beneath the Facts with Two Peas One Pod, Part 2

    On this episode of Small Speculations, Alyssa and Hannah take us through more in-depth findings and details on their public memory sites. Emotions run high through the both of them as they get deeper and deeper into their research. They talk about how the research process has been going, along with newly found, fascinating leads on their sites. The two allude to what is to come in episode three, and you won't hardly be able to wait!  More on Our Sites: Wyoming Public Media Article - With Heavy Hearts, Albany County School Board Votes to Close the UW Lab SchoolWyoHistory Article - The Black 14: Race, Politics, Religion and Wyoming Football    Sources:  Rice, Jennifer H. Jonathan Alexander, and Emily Amedee. "Memory and Lost Communities: Strange Methods for Studying Place." Review of Communication, vol. 20, no. 2, Apr. 2020, pp. 144-151. DOI:10.1080/15358593.2020.1737193.Hunkins, R (2025, October 5). Ray Hunkins: The Part Of The Black 14 Story The Press Never Told. Cowboy State Daily.https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/10/05/the-part-of-the-black-14-story-the-press-never-told/

  5. 10/07/2025

    Season 2, Ep3: Past Tense, Present Talk with Two Peas One Pod, Part 1

    On this episode of Small Speculations, Alyssa King and Hannah Durgin dive into their public memory selection sites. They give background information that will drive the rest of the episodes as they dive further and further. It explored why they picked them, personal connections, what the locations have to do with public memory, challenges they may face, and some interesting things about their sites. This episode is a great introduction to what is yet to come for these girls and their sites.  More on The Two Peas One Pod's Memory Sites: Laramie Boomerang - University of Wyoming Lab School Closing Articles The Incredible Story of the Black 14 Scholarly Sources: Foss, Sonja K. “A Rhetorical Schema for the Evaluation of Visual Imagery.” Communication Studies, vol. 45, no. 3–4, 1994, pp. 213–24Dickinson, Greg;Ott, Brian L;Aoki, Eric. Western Journal of Communication; Apr 2005; 69, 2; ProQuest, pg. 85Boym, Svetlana. "Nostalgia and Its Discontents." The Hedgehog Review, vol. 9, no. 2, 2007, pp. 7–18.Houdek and Phillips, “Public Memory”  Houdek M., and Phillips K. (2017, January 25). Public Memory. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Retrieved 6 Oct. 2025, from https://oxfordre.com/communication/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-181.Lambert and Ochsner, “Moment to Monument” Assman, J. (2008). Moment to Monument The Making and Unmaking of Cultural Significance (in collaboration with Regula Hohl Trillini, Jennifer Jermann and Markus Marti) (L. Lambert & A. Ochsner, Eds.). Bielefeld Transcript Verlag.Connerton, “Seven Types of Forgetting” Connerton, P. (2008). Seven types of forgetting. Memory Studies, 1(1), 59-71.

  6. 10/03/2025

    Season 2, Ep2: Recuperating Public Memory with the Girly Pops, Part 1

    In this episode of Small Speculations, the dream team of Sadie Ring, Payton Hans, and Hilde Ball discuss their chosen sites of public memory. They introduce their sites and why they picked them, what locations they are attributing to said memories, what they each find interesting about their sites, what they find challenging, and what their next steps moving forward will be. More on the Girly Pop Memory Sites: News related to Pokes Pride Center (including photo)Lab School ("Prep School") Public Facebook GroupAmerican Heritage Center Post on Merica Hall Scholarly Sources: Assmann, Aleida. "’Plunging into Nothingness’: The Politics of Cultural Memory." Moment to Monument: The Making and Unmaking of Cultural, edited by Ladina Bezzola Lambert and Andrea Ochsner, Bielefeld: Transcript, 2008, pp. 35-50. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783839409626-003Connerton, Paul. "Seven Types of Forgetting." Memory Studies, vol. 1, no. 1, 2008, pp. 59–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698007083889Foss, Sonja K. “A Rhetorical Schema for the Evaluation of Visual Imagery.” Communication Studies, vol. 45, no. 3–4, Sept. 1994, pp. 213–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510979409368425

  7. 09/26/2025

    Season 2, Ep1: Sympoiesis and Lost Memories

    Welcome back to Small Speculations! In this kickoff episode for fall 2025, Nancy introduces the upcoming season of projects and ideas her senior students will be discussing. Shoutouts: University of Wyoming Art Museum (UWAM)UWAM on SympoiesisAmerican Heritage CenterSvetlana Boym on Nostalgia Intro and outro music is "Backyard Trees: Light Mix" from Descript.

  8. 05/08/2023

    Ep14. Closing Up the Semester

    In this final episode for spring 2023, Nancy Small provides some commentary to wrap up our semester of public memory study. We're also excited to announce the publication of our PocketSights walking tour focused on the sites you've been listening about this term. It includes photos, text, and short audio clips about the sites themselves. It's free and viewable online or in the PocketSights app. Please check it out! Sources: Connerton, Paul. “Bodily Practices.” How Societies Remember, edited by John Dunn, Jack Goody, Eugene A. Hammel, and Geoffrery Hawthorn, Cambridge University Press, 1989, pp. 72-115. Dunn, Thomas R. “‘The Quare in the Square’: Queer Memory, Sensibilities, and Oscar Wilde." The Quarterly Journal of Speech, vol. 100, no. 2, 2014, pp. 213-240. Rice, Jennifer. H., et al. “Memory and Lost Communities: Strange Methods for Studying Place.” Review of Communication, vol. 20, no. 2, 2020, pp. 144–151. More Info: University of Wyoming English Department website: ⁠⁠http://www.uwyo.edu/english/⁠⁠ Music by Mr. Smith, “Be Cool” from the album StreamlinerUsed under ⁠⁠Creative Commons License 4.0 International⁠⁠From the ⁠⁠Free Music Archive

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About

Dr. Nancy Small and her amazing students at the University of Wyoming take on semester-long topics of study including public memory, storytelling, strategies for civic discourse, and more. Join us to hear about and learn through their projects, many of which are situated right here in Laramie. Each season is written and produced by a particular class. For spring 2023, we’re starting with nine talented folks analyzing local sites of public memory.

Information

  • Creator
    Nancy Small
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Nancy Small
  • Show Website
    Small Speculations