Matthew Basso Named State Scholar for Smithsonian Institute Museum Program 

Professor Matthew Basso has been named the State Scholar for the Smithsonian Institute's The Way We Worked, a Museum on Main Street program. Presented by Utah Humanities and the Smithsonian Institute, this exhibition began its year-long Utah tour in January at the Ogden Union Station. The purpose of this program is to illustrate the history of work and labor in American life, from office and factory workers to homemakers and truckers. The exhibition will visit six Utah museums during its course, including: Union Station Museums, Hyrum City Museum, Museum of the San Rafael, Territorial Statehouse State Park Museum, Silver Reef Museum, and Park City Museum.

Professor Basso, for his role, has spent the last year training local community historians to tell the stories of labor in their community. He has also written an interpretive essay about the history of work in Utah alongside co-author and PhD student John Christensen, which has been printed and made available at each of the six locations hosting the exhibit. The essay is also available online in PDF format. 

For more information on the exhibition, visit the Utah Humanities website: The Way We Worked Exhibition

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