The Dimensions of the Midwestern History Revival: A Discussion of between Loving and Leaving: Essays on the New Midwestern History (University of Oklahoma Press, Fall 2025)

The American Midwest is known as the “lost region” in American history, the place that has been the least studied in the nation despite its great size and influence. A decade ago, a group of scholars came together in an attempt to revive the study of the American Midwest and founded the Midwestern History Association and the journal Middle West Review. The annual meetings of the MHA over the past decade have generated a new corpus of work on the Midwest that is in need of assessment and discussion. To facilitate this discussion after a decade of work, several scholars contributed to a new collection of essays about the history of the region titled Between Loving and Leaving: Essays on the New Midwestern History (University of Oklahoma Press, fall 2025). This panel will analyze the past decade’s effort to revive Midwestern history and use the book Between Loving and Leaving to guide the discussion. Chicago is the ideal location for such a discussion. The book will be released shortly before the meeting.