June 7, 2017

In the stunning wake of Election 2016, studies of the Midwest are more crucial than ever for understanding the complex history and shifting politics of the United States. More than at any time in recent memory, the nation’s center of gravity is planted in Midwestern soil. Home to the Great Plains and the Great Lakes; known for agriculture and industry, for majestic countryside and great cities; labeled the Breadbasket, the Heartland, and the Rust Belt; the history of the Midwest – its peoples and places, cultures, and conflicts, aspirations and afflictions – is the history of America’s most common ground.
Hosted for the third consecutive year by the Hauenstein Center in collaboration with the Midwestern History Association, this conference will assemble historians, literary scholars, and cultural commentators dedicated to renewing Midwestern studies. “Finding the Lost Region” will continue the project of rebuilding the intellectual infrastructure necessary for studies of the American Midwest to flourish.

The Midwestern History Association, created in the fall of 2014, is dedicated to rebuilding the field of Midwestern history, which has suffered from decades of neglect and inattention. The MHA advocates for greater attention to Midwestern history among professional historians seeks to rebuild the infrastructure necessary for the study of the American Midwest, promotes greater academic discourse relating to Midwestern history, and offers prizes to scholars who excel in the study of the Midwest. To become a member of the Midwestern History Association, please contact MHA Secretary Ted Frantz at [email protected]