ISSN 2372-5664
eISSN 2372-5672
Volume 9, Number 2, Spring 2023
Introduction
The Shredding of Midwestern Newspapers
Jon K. Lauck
Symposium on Midwestern Women’s History
Introduction
Katherine Jellison
Sustenance, Social Bonds, and Politics: A Food History of the South Dakota Suffrage Movement
Liz Almlie
“The Light of Science and Religion”: Women’s Education, the Language of Conquest, and Emerging Midwestern Identities on the Illinois Frontier, 1830–1850
Jenny Barker-Devine
“For Women Only!”: A Radical Message of the Black Middle Class in Kansas City
Elyssa Ford
Monuments to Midwestern Pioneer Mothers and Native Women
Cynthia C. Prescott
Female Hucksters and Produce Markets in the Great Lakes Region, 1830s-1890s
Debra A. Reid
Symposium on Halvorson and Reno’s Imagining the Heartland
Inventing a Heartland
Eric Arnesen
Agrarian Mythologies
Debra Bricker Balken
Whose Midwest?
Paul Finkelman
What to the “Other” is the Midwest?
Ashley Howard
No, the Heartland isn’t a Race, and the Social Sciences are a Mess
Robert Leonard
Does “White” Equal “White Supremacy”?
Marcia Noe
Wrong Ideas About Wrong Ideas
David Pichaske
Recognizing the Authentic, Documented Middle West
Christopher Reed
Imagining Supremacy
Wilfred Reilley
Settler Colonialism and Imagining the Nation’s Center as its Right
David Roediger
Whitewashing the Heartland
Michael Steiner
Symposium on the History Jobs Crisis
U.S. History as Part of a Core Curriculum
Megan Birk
Surveying the Ongoing History Crisis: Quantitative and Qualitative Evidence from Across the Midwest
Kevin Mason
Reframing History: A Response
Andrew Offenburger
Book Reviews
Jenny Tone-Pah-Hote, Crafting an Indigenous Nation: Kiowa Expressive Culture in the Progressive Era
Benjamin R. Kracht
Kristin L. Hoganson, The Heartland: An American History
Michelle Martindale
Elizabeth Sutton, Angel De Cora, Karen Thronson, and the Art of Place: How Two Midwestern Women Used Art to Negotiate Migration and Dispossession
Emily C. Burns
Michael E. Brooks and Bob Fitrakis, A History of Hate in Ohio: Then and Now
Britt Halvorson
Simon M. Evans, A Geography of the Hutterites in North America
Devin C. Manzullo-Thomas
Benjamin Moore, The Names of John Gergen: Immigrant Identities in Early Twentieth-Century St. Louis
Andrew Klumpp
Jason Stacy, Spoon River America: Edgar Lee Masters and the Myth of the American Small Town
Gregory Brown
Katherine Wiltenburg Todrys, Black Snake: Standing Rock, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Environmental Justice
Claire Patton
Neil D. Hamilton, The Land Remains: A Midwestern Perspective On Our Past and Future
Jim Feldman
Book Review Essays
They Have All Gone Away: Farms, Families, and Change
Paula Nelson
Ruin, Revival, and Something in Between: Memoirs of the Rust Belt
John Kropf
Media Review
Revisiting a Debut at a Career’s End: Lakeboat (David Mamet, 1970; dir. Joe Mantegna)
Matthew Sorrento
Reflection
I’m Your Boy: Dan Fogelberg and Peoria, Illinois
Ray E. Boomhower
Conversation
An Interview with David R. Roediger
Jon K. Lauck
Statement of Publishing Ethics
The Middle West Review accepts submissions on a rolling basis. We encourage readers to contribute original content that deepens the public’s understanding of the American Midwest in an accessible and thoughtful manner. Some examples of submission types include:
Articles and Essays
Scholarly articles or essays should run roughly 8,000-12,000 words and articulate a central thesis about an important aspect of the Midwest. These works should build upon original research or new interpretations of existing sources and advance a unique argument pertaining to the American Midwest and, when appropriate, rely on proper citations and a footnote apparatus. Authors are advised to review earlier issues of Middle West Review to better understand the type of articles published by the journal.
Photo Essays
These projects should incorporate original photographs of or about the Midwest. We ask contributors to also include a description of each photograph and a brief written explanation (100 to 200 words) of their significance as a body of work.
Book Reviews: Middle West Review is eager to review new books related to the Midwest and to publish review essays which discuss groupings of recent books about the Midwest. Book review inquiries should be directed to Jennifer Stinson: jstinson@svsu.edu
Other types of submissions will be also considered. All contributions will undergo a process of peer review spearheaded by the Middle West Review editors and executive board.
Submissions will either be accepted for publication outright, returned with a request to “revise and resubmit,” or rejected outright. All submissions will benefit from the comments and revisions of the Middle West Review editors and its editorial reviewers.
Stylistic Guidelines
Authors should consult the Chicago Manual of Style as they prepare to submit their manuscripts to Middle West Review. Works should use endnotes in accordance with that manual’s specifications. Please Times New Roman 12-point font. All written submissions should be double-spaced and have one-inch margins on all sides. Manuscripts should be clear, concise, and devoid of jargon. Refrain from using the first person or passive voice. Successful submissions will marshal a strong argument buttressed by adequate evidence, thoughtful analysis, and lucid prose. Furthermore, in keeping with the journal’s mission, manuscripts should use the Midwest as a category of analysis and seek to explain why their project matters for the study of this region.
Please feel free to submit your materials at any time to MWR@USD.edu. You can also send any questions about submissions and other matters to that address.
Jon K. Lauck, University of South Dakota
Jennifer Stinson, Saginaw Valley State University
Christopher R. Laingen, Eastern Illinois University
Hannah Redder, New York University
David Grabitske, South Dakota State Historical Society
Richard J. Jensen, Montana State University–Billings
Paula Nelson, University of Wisconsin at Platteville
Gregory L. Schneider, Emporia State University
Graduate Student Assistant
Zach Wattier, University of South Dakota
William Barillas, University of Wisconsin–La Crosse
Megan Birk, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
James F. Brooks, University of California–Santa Barbara
Jason Duncan, Aquinas College
David F. Good, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
Jeffrey Helgeson, Texas State University
R. Douglas Hurt, Purdue University
Suzzanne Kelley, North Dakota State University Press
Sara A. Kosiba, Kent State University
Gregory S. Rose, The Ohio State University at Marion
Matthew Sanderson, Kansas State University
Andrew Seal, University of New Hampshire
Jeff Wells, Dickinson State University
Jonathan Kasparek, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Adam Ochonicky, University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh
Middle West Review seeks applications for two open Editorial Board slots. Interested parties should submit a letter of interest and a vita to Executive Board Chair Paula Nelson at nelsonp1951@yahoo.com by April 1, 2023.
Call-for-Proposals: The Midwest Since 1965
Middle West Review seeks proposals for contributions to a special issue dedicated to all aspects of the history, culture, and politics of the post-1965 Midwest. Proposals relating to deindustrialization, rural depopulation and farm crises, cultural change (and resistance thereto), regional identity, race relations, sports, immigration and outmigration, social capital and civic life, literary and intellectual life, cultural regionalism and resistance to mass culture, and new angles on life in the Midwest are especially welcome. Proposals should be 300 words or less and include a short bio and be sent to MWR@USD.edu by June 1, 2023. If a proposal is accepted, final articles for the special issue will be due by June 1, 2024 be subject to a 4,000 word limit.
This list of peer-reviewed materials features articles on many topics spanning Globalization, Genocide, Religion, Diaspora Communities, and other aspects on the topic of Migration.
Reading List: Willa CatherThis list of peer-reviewed articles & reviews centers on the work of acclaimed author (and UNL alum) Willa Cather. Known for her novels on the pioneer experience, her works are reexamined here through the lens of modern-day academics.
Reading List: Social MediaAs online communities continue to widen their reach, so too does our list of peer-reviewed articles on various subjects including Journalism, Communal Narrative, Activism, Marketing, and Image Rehabilitation.
Reading List: Sports-Related Controversies, Social Issues, and ScandalsThis sprawling list includes peer-reviewed articles on subjects as diverse as the fields of play they revolve around, including Violence in Sports, Gambling & Game Fixing, Drugs & Banned Substances, Mascots & Offensive Imagery, and other controversies.
Reading List: Women's Political Action in the U.S.Resources for use in discussions of women's political activities in the U.S., both contemporary and historical.
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