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Ozarks Studies Symposium -2018

The Twelfth Annual Ozarks Symposium
“Social Architecture and
Foundations of the Ozarks”
September 20-22, 2018

The theme of the 12th annual Ozarks Studies Symposium is “Social Architecture and Foundations of the Ozarks.’’ All presentations will be held at the West Plains Civic Center, are free of charge, and the community is invited to attend.
The symposium will feature presentations by scholars, writers, artists and musicians who will provide insight into many facets of the Ozarks.
Dr. Jason McCollom, assistant professor of History at MSU-WP and symposium coordinator, emphasized the exciting slate of presenters. “This year’s theme is designed to include a wide variety of topics on the history and influences of Ozarks socio-cultural life,” he said, “And the community can learn from a variety of  presentations on the theme. I think this year’s topics will give us insight to the foundation and structures of our Ozarks culture.”

Keynote Address: “Sage and Osage: Donald Harington and the Long History of the Ozarks “

The symposium’s keynote address will be given at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, by Brian D. Walter, Ph. D., Professor of English, St. Louis College of Pharmacy
In his 1986 nonfiction novel Let Us Build Us a City, Donald Harington deepens the failed dreams of European settlers who optimistically named their little communities “cities” by invoking the much older and more resonant artistic traditions of the first human inhabitants of the Mississippi basin:
In this philosophically conservative view of time and history,
Harington emphasizes the organic genius of Native Americans’ allegedly “primitive” art, as he does throughout his novels, consistently honoring the profound work of their imaginations even when it appears only as ruins and remnants, vestiges of human cultures.

Ozarks Studies Symposium at the West Plains Civic Center
Thursday, September 20 (Mezzanine)

5-7 PM Opening Reception sponsor; West Plains Council on the Arts
Exhibit – “Rocks and Red Clay” Barbara Williams’ Artwork

Friday, September 21, (Redbud and Gohn Rooms)

9 a.m. Welcome: Dr. Shirley Lawler, Chancellor, Missouri State University-West Plains
9:15 a.m. Dr. Mark Morgan, Associate Professor, School of Natu-ral Resources, University of Missouri
Adventures of a Nature Novice: Henry Rowe Schoolcraft in the Ozarks
9:50 a.m. Mara W. Cohen Ioannides, D.S., Senior Instructor, Eng-lish Department, Missouri State University and President of the Midwest Jewish Studies Association
The First Families: Foundation of the Jewish Ozarks
10:35 a.m. Timothy G. Nutt, Director of Historical Research Cen-ter, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Spiritual Medicine in the Hills: The Catholic Churches, Hospitals and Communities of the Arkansas Ozarks.
11:10 a.m. Dr. Kevin L. Jones, Associate Professor of English, Rehetoric and Writing, University of Arkansas Ft. Smith
At the Source: Stories of the Hires, Wilson, Kilby, McKedy and Williams families in Taney County
11:45 a.m. Jamie Middleton, University of Arkansas
“The Gettysburg of the West:” The Utility of Public Archaeology to Supplement and Enhance Public Interpretation and the Re-versal of Ozark Stereotypes at Pea Ridge National Military Park
2:00 p.m. Lisa Irle, Former Curator, Johnson County Historical Society, Warrensburg, MO
The Captain and the Judge: Building Camps, Forts, Dams, Bridg-es and Character Across the Ozarks
2:35 p.m. Dr. John J. Han, Professor of English and Creative Writing, Missouri Baptist University
Harold Bell Wright as an Inspiration for Guy Howard and Ronald Reagan
3:10 p.m. Dr. Phil Howerton, Professor of English, Missouri State University-West Plains
Debating Social Foundations in Parson Brooks: A Plumb Powerful Hardshell
3:45 p.m. Dr. Benjamin G. Rader, James L. Sellers Professor of History, emeritus, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Dr. Roger D. Kirby, Professor of Physics, emeritus, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Dr. John Comer, Professor of Political Science, emer-itus, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Rugged Terrains and Unspoiled Human Habitats in Missouri’s Ozarks
5:00 p.m. Keynote: Brian D. Walter, Ph. D., Professor of English, St. Louis College of Pharmacy
Sage and Osage: Donald Harington and the Long History of the Ozarks
7 – 10 p.m. Social Hour at Wages Brewing Company
Saturday, September 22 (Magnolia Room)
Missouri Archaeological Society Symposium: The Journey of Schoolcraft

Saturday, September 22, (Magnolia Room)

9 – 9:10 a.m. Dr. Neal H. Lopinot, Secretary, Missouri Archaeo-logical Society and Director, Center for Archaeological Research, Missouri State University – Introduction
9:10 – 9:35 a.m. Dr. Michael J. Fuller, Professor Emeritus of An-thropology, St. Louis Community College
A Biography of H. R. Schoolcraft and His Visit to the Lead Source Near Springfield

9:35 – 10 a.m. Curtis Copeland, G.I.S.P., Geographic Information Sys-tems Coordinator, City of Branson
Utilizing GIS Technology to Trace the Route of Schoolcraft’s Journey
10:10 – 10:35 a.m. Jack H. Ray, Assistant Director, Center for Archae-ological Research, Missouri State University
In Search of an Osage Indian Hunting Camp
10:35 – 11:00 a.m. Eric Fuller, Archaeologist, Smallin Civil War Cave
Schoolcraft at Smallin Cave: Then and Now
11:10 – 11:35 a.m. Jennifer A. Rideout, Project Supervisor, Center for Archaeological Research, Missouri State University
The Widow Harris Cabin
11:35 a.m. – Noon Rusty Weisman, Senior Historic Preservation Spe-cialist, Missouri Department of Transportation
On the Trail of H. R. Schoolcraft in Southeast Missouri
Noon – 12:30 p.m. Student Poster Panel
1:30 p.m. Tour of West Plains historic sites and the Harlin Museum

Saturday, September 22 (Gohn and Redbud Rooms)

Noon Leslie Reed, Instructor of English, Arkansas State University
“Here or There: Community and the Ease of Navigating the Criminal World in Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone and Give Us a Kiss”
12:35 p.m. Carla Kirchner, Assistant Professor of Language and Liter-ature, Southwest Baptist University
The Witch and the Wizard: Writing Ozark Characters in Contemporary Fiction
1:10 p.m. Dr. Thomas Kersen, Associate Professor of Sociology, Jack-son State University
When the Electric Music Came to Arkansas
2 p.m. Dr. Steve Wiegenstein, author of Slant of Light; This Old World and The Language of Trees
The Social Panoply of the Ozarks: Appreciating the Writing of John Mort
2:35 p.m. Dr. Jared Phillips, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Arkansas
Mountain Midwives: Midwifery Practice and Culture in the Arkansas Ozarks during the 20th Century
3:10 p.m. Dr. Craig Albin, Professor of English, Missouri State Uni-versity-West Plains
“Rose of Sharon”
3:45 p.m. Dr. Jason McCollom, Assistant Professor of History, Mis-souri State University-West Plains and Jim McFarland, Trillium Trust
In Search of Schoolcraft: The Hunt for Potato Cave and the Role of the Unlock the Ozarks Project