Icon, Brand, Myth

An investigation of the meanings and iconography of the Stampede: an invented tradition that takes over the city of Calgary for ten days every July. Since 1923, archetypal "Cowboys and Indians" are seen again at the chuckwagon races, on the midway, and throughout Calgary. Each essay in this collection examines a facet of the experience-from the images on advertising posters to the ritual of the annual parade. This study of the Calgary Stampede as a social phenomenon reveals the history and sociology of the city of Calgary and the social construction of identity for western Canada as a whole.

Max Foran is professor in the Faculty of Communication and History at the University of Calgary. He has written extensively on various western Canadian urban, rural, and cultural topics, most recently on ranching, urban growth, and sustainability.