Heartland History

An interview with Dr. Philip Greasley, Professor of English at The University of Kentucky and editor for the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature (SSML). Dr. Greasley discusses the influence of Midwestern literature, the Chicago Renaissance, and his work on Dictionary of Midwestern Literature Vol. 2: Dimensions of the Midwestern Literary Imagination published in August of 2016.

An interview with Dr. Silvana R. Siddali

Associate Professor, Eugene A. Hotfelder Professor of Humanities at St. Louis University.

Dr. Siddali discusses her book, " Frontier Democracy: Constitutional Conventions in the Old Northwest" and her examination of "the debates over state constitutions in the antebellum Northwest (Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) from the 1820s through the 1850s. This is a book about conversations: in particular, the fights and negotiations over the core ideals in the constitutions that brought these frontier communities to life."

Dr. Michael D. Steiner, Emeritus Professor of American Studies at California State University- Fullerton discusses his recent work, Regionalist on the Left: Radical Voices from the American West, sense of place and space, cultural geography in relation to regionalism.

Dr. Larry Lockridge, Professor Emeritus of English at New York University, discusses his work, Shade of the Raintree: The Life and Death of Ross Lockridge, Jr., Author of Raintree County. While Raintree County is itself a highly developed historical novel about Indiana during the Civil War, Lockridge eloquently underscores the historical consciousness coursing through the Lockridge family, which encompasses his deep Indiana roots and the prevailing influences of Midwestern life.

Adam Arenson, Professor of History at Manhattan College discusses his book- The Great Heart of the Republic St. Louis and the Cultural Civil War. Dr. Arenson illuminates how the American Civil War, expanded beyond military battles ultimately causing a cultural civil war among North, South, and West, as their leaders sought to shape Manifest Destiny and slavery politics.

An interview with Pulitzer-Prize winning historian, Steven Hahn. Dr. Hahn discusses his latest book, A Nation without Borders: The United States and Its World in an Age of Civil Wars, 1830-1910.

James Connolly Director, Center for Middletown Studies and George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of History, at Ball State University in Muncie Indiana, discusses his past and recent projects including his work on “What Middletown Read,” a study of print culture and urban life at the turn of the twentieth century, in collaboration with Frank Felsenstein.

Marvin Bergman discusses his work as Editor the Annals of Iowa, the State Historical Society of Iowa’s quarterly, scholarly history journal. Since 1987, Dr. Bergman has worked to make the best interpretive work on Iowa history accessible to the public by contributing his knowledge and talent to several other publications including the Iowa History Reader (University of Iowa Press edition, 2008), co-editing Unionizing the Jungles: Labor and Community in the Twentieth-Century Meatpacking Industry (University of Iowa Press, 1997)with Shelton Stromquist. and co editing The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa (University of Iowa Press, 2008)with David Hudson and Loren Horton.

Jon Butler, the Howard R. Lamar Professor Emeritus of American Studies, History, and Religious Studies at Yale University discusses his work and the importance of studying the history of the Midwest. His publications include “Awash in a Sea of Faith: Christianizing the American People,” which earned the American Historical Association’s Beveridge Award for the best book in American history in 1990, “Becoming America: The Revolution Before 1776," published in 2000, and his current research focuses on religion in the late 19th and early 20th century Manhattan. (photo courtesy of Yale University, Department of History)

National Register Historian Denis Gardner, Minnesota Historical Society. Denis discusses the importance of the National Register, historic preservation, and its role in state and local history initiatives. In addition to his work as National Register Historian, Denis has published a number of books including "Wood, Concrete, Stone, and Steel: Minnesota's Historic Bridges" and "Minnesota Treasures: Stories Behind the State's Historic Places."