Download or read book The American Midwest in Film and Literature written by Adam R. Ochonicky and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-04 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do works from film and literature—Sister Carrie, Native Son, Meet Me in St. Louis, Halloween, and A History of Violence, for example—imagine, reify, and reproduce Midwestern identity? And what are the repercussions of such regional narratives and images circulating in American culture? In The American Midwest in Film and Literature: Nostalgia, Violence, and Regionalism, Adam R. Ochonicky provides a critical overview of the evolution, contestation, and fragmentation of the Midwest's symbolic and often contradictory meanings. Using the frontier writings of Frederick Jackson Turner as a starting point, this book establishes a succession of Midwestern filmic and literary texts stretching from the late-19th century through the beginning of the 21st century and argues that the manifold properties of nostalgia have continually transformed popular understandings and ideological uses of the Midwest's place-identity. Ochonicky identifies three primary modes of nostalgia at play across a set of textual objects: the projection of nostalgia onto physical landscapes and into the cultural sphere (nostalgic spatiality); nostalgia as a cultural force that regulates behaviors, identities, and appearances (nostalgic violence); and the progressive potential of nostalgia to generate an acknowledgment and possible rectification of ways in which the flawed past negatively affects the present (nostalgic atonement). While developing these new conceptions of nostalgia, Ochonicky reveals how an under-examined area of regional study has received critical attention throughout the histories of American film and literature, as well as in related materials and discourses. From the closing of the Western frontier to the polarized political and cultural climate of the 21st century, this book demonstrates how film and literature have been and continue to be vital forums for illuminating the complex interplay of regionalism and nostalgia.

Download or read book Wetlands of the American Midwest written by Hugh Prince and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How people perceive wetlands has always played a crucial role in determining how people act toward them. In this readable and objective account, Hugh Prince examines literary evidence as well as government and scientific documents to uncover the history of changing attitudes toward wetlands in the American Midwest. As attitudes changed, so did scientific research agendas, government policies, and farmers' strategies for managing their land. Originally viewed as bountiful sources of wildlife by indigenous peoples, wet areas called "wet prairies," "swamps," or "bogs" in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were considered productive only when drained for agricultural use. Beginning in the 1950s, many came to see these renamed "wetlands" as valuable for wildlife and soil conservation. Prince's book will appeal to a wide readership, ranging from geographers and environmental historians to the many government and private agencies and individuals concerned with wetland research, management, and preservation.

Download or read book The American Midwest written by Andrew R. L. Cayton and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2006-11-08 with total page 1918 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first-ever encyclopedia of the Midwest seeks to embrace this large and diverse area, to give it voice, and help define its distinctive character. Organized by topic, it encourages readers to reflect upon the region as a whole. Each section moves from the general to the specific, covering broad themes in longer introductory essays, filling in the details in the shorter entries that follow. There are portraits of each of the region's twelve states, followed by entries on society and culture, community and social life, economy and technology, and public life. The book offers a wealth of information about the region's surprising ethnic diversity -- a vast array of foods, languages, styles, religions, and customs -- plus well-informed essays on the region's history, culture and values, and conflicts. A site of ideas and innovations, reforms and revivals, and social and physical extremes, the Midwest emerges as a place of great complexity, signal importance, and continual fascination.

Download or read book The Midwest and the Nation written by Andrew R. L. Cayton and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 1990-04-22 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Cayton and Onuf have tried to recapture a central place for region in our thinking while, at the same time, incorporating into their analysis the latest scholarship on gender, political behavior, etc. Theirs is a fine blending of the old and the new: old scholarship and new directions." —Malcolm J. Rohrbough "This is an ambitious work that . . . truly beongs on the 'must do' reading list of all midwestern and American historians." —American Historical Review " . . . an impressive interpretive work that will command the attention of regional historians and national scholars alike." —Illinois Historical Journal " . . . an excellent extended historiographic essay that seeks not only to locate the significance of the region created by the early land ordinance but also to raise issues for the historical examination of other regions of the country." —South Dakota History "What makes this book especially interesting and valuable is that it is informed by the post-modern scholar's view that knowledge can never be objective and eternally true; rather, it is subjective and socially constructed, shaped by the political, social, intellectual, and economic environments in which it is formed." —Western Illinois Regional Studies "The book's review of scholarship about the region is exhaustive, as well as brisk and lucid." —American Studies International " . . . a rigorous intellecutal analysis of the region's most important historiography." —Gateway Heritage " . . . an excellent book . . . " —The Annals of Iowa "What is impressive about this densely written work is the number of secondary works incorporated into the text and the importance of the authors' thesis of the considerable influence of happenings in the Midwest of the nineteenth century." —North Dakota History "There is . . . much to be praised in this book, and it will be frequently used and discussed by scholars of the early Midwest." —Journal of American History

Download or read book Lives of North American Birds written by Kenn Kaufman and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 1996 with total page 708 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bestselling natural history of birds, lavishly illustrated with 600 colorphotos, is now available for the first time in flexi binding.

Download or read book Enduring Nations written by Russell David Edmunds and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diverse perspectives on midwestern Native American communities

Download or read book The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America written by Matt Kracht and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: National bestselling book: Featured on Midwest, Mountain Plains, New Atlantic, Northern, Pacific Northwest and Southern Regional Indie Bestseller Lists Perfect book for the birder and anti-birder alike A humorous look at 50 common North American dumb birds: For those who have a disdain for birds or bird lovers with a sense of humor, this snarky, illustrated handbook is equal parts profane, funny, and—let's face it—true. Featuring common North American birds, such as the White-Breasted Butt Nugget and the Goddamned Canada Goose (or White-Breasted Nuthatch and Canada Goose for the layperson), Matt Kracht identifies all the idiots in your backyard and details exactly why they suck with humorous, yet angry, ink drawings. With The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America, you won't need to wonder what all that racket is anymore! • Each entry is accompanied by facts about a bird's (annoying) call, its (dumb) migratory pattern, its (downright tacky) markings, and more. • The essential guide to all things wings with migratory maps, tips for birding, musings on the avian population, and the ethics of birdwatching. • Matt Kracht is an amateur birder, writer, and illustrator who enjoys creating books that celebrate the humor inherent in life's absurdities. Based in Seattle, he enjoys gazing out the window at the beautiful waters of Puget Sound and making fun of birds. "There are loads of books out there for bird lovers, but until now, nothing for those that love to hate birds. The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America fills the void, packed with snarky illustrations that chastise the flying animals in a funny, profane way. " – Uncrate A humorous animal book with 50 common North American birds for people who love birds and also those who love to hate birds • A perfect coffee table or bar top conversation-starting book • Makes a great Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthday, or retirement gift

Download or read book The Conservative Heartland written by Jon Lauck and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Journalists, political pundits, and historians alike were shocked not just by the election of Donald Trump but also by the degree of support he won in states that Democrats had long presumed to be safe. Taken together, the seventeen essays in this collection detail the rise of Midwestern conservatism after World War II by identifying the specific policies, issues, leaders, geographic and demographic changes, controversies, and social causes that helped Midwestern conservative groups grow. It includes essays on nine different states, covering every decade of the postwar period, and looks at the conservative movement through the lenses of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Topics include the rural/urban divide, the development of a conservative intellectual program, environmentalism and its critics, responses to deindustrialization, regional support for Reagan, privatization and its consequences, mass incarceration, and the debates over same-sex marriage, abortion, and second wave feminism"--

Download or read book The Making of the Midwest written by Jon K. Lauck and published by . This book was released on 2020-05-15 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the American colonial period, what would become the Midwest was the "backcountry," or the area behind the coastal population centers. It was rural and rough, the sort of place that fueled populist resistance to the federal taxation of whiskey. At the time of the Revolution, it was The West, often undifferentiated between north and south and largely associated with Kentucky. In the early years of the republic, however, the regional differentiation deepened and grew until the latter half of the 19th century, when the Midwest emerged as a fully formed region. The essays in this book help explain this process of region-making. Contributors: Christa Adams Brie Swenson Arnold Terry A. Barnhart Michael Leonard Cox Wayne Duerkes Sara Egge Nicole Etcheson Edward O. Frantz Jacob K. Friefeld A. James Fuller Kenyon Gradert Joshua Jeffers Jason Lantzer David C. Miller Marcia Noe C.A. Norling Lisa Payne Ossian Barton E. Price Eric Michael Rhodes Gregory S. Rose Michael J. Sherfy Jason Stacy

Download or read book Muslims of the Heartland written by Edward E. Curtis IV and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2023-11-07 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uncovers the surprising history of Muslim life in the early American Midwest The American Midwest is often thought of as uniformly white, and shaped exclusively by Christian values. However, this view of the region as an unvarying landscape fails to consider a significant community at its very heart. Muslims of the Heartland uncovers the long history of Muslims in a part of the country where many readers would not expect to find them. Edward E. Curtis IV, a descendant of Syrian Midwesterners, vividly portrays the intrepid men and women who busted sod on the short-grass prairies of the Dakotas, peddled needles and lace on the streets of Cedar Rapids, and worked in the railroad car factories of Michigan City. This intimate portrait follows the stories of individuals such as farmer Mary Juma, pacifist Kassem Rameden, poet Aliya Hassen, and bookmaker Kamel Osman from the early 1900s through World War I, the Roaring 20s, the Great Depression, and World War II. Its story-driven approach places Syrian Americans at the center of key American institutions like the assembly line, the family farm, the dance hall, and the public school, showing how the first two generations of Midwestern Syrians created a life that was Arab, Muslim, and American, all at the same time. Muslims of the Heartland recreates what the Syrian Muslim Midwest looked, sounded, felt, and smelled like—from the allspice-seasoned lamb and rice shared in mosque basements to the sound of the trains on the Rock Island Line rolling past the dry goods store. It recovers a multicultural history of the American Midwest that cannot be ignored.

Download or read book Mushrooms of Northeast North America written by George Barron and published by Publishing Partners. This book was released on 2016-03-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An authoritative and full-color photographic field guide to mushrooms and fungi of the northern United States, from Minnesota to Nova Scotia, south to Virginia. Includes over 700 spectacular photos and excellent species information. Reprinted February 2016 with new ISBN 9781772130003, replacing ISBN 9781551052014.

Download or read book Black in the Middle written by Terrion L. Williamson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2020-09-01 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ambitious, honest portrait of the Black experience in flyover country. One of The St. Louis Post Dispatch's Best Books of 2020. Black Americans have been among the hardest hit by the rapid deindustrialization and

Download or read book The Midwest Survival Guide written by Charlie Berens and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2021-11-16 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller A hilarious full-color guide to Midwestern culture, from comedian and journalist Charlie Berens, creator of the viral comedic series "The Manitowoc Minute" Have you ever had a goodbye lasting more than four hours? Do you lack the emotional capacity to say “I love you” so you just tell your loved ones to “watch out for deer”? Have you apologized to a stranger because she stepped on your foot? If you answered yes to any of these questions, there’s a good chance you’re a Midwesterner—or a Midwesterner at heart. Even if you answered no, you probably know someone who held the door for you from two football fields away. He likely waved at you and said, “Hey there,” like you organized the church bar crawl together. That was a Midwesterner in the wild. We understand that your interaction was strange—but it’s likely to get stranger. Don’t wait until they stick their head in your second-floor window to invite you over for a perch fry because they climbed on your roof to clean your gutters. There’s no need to pull the pepper spray; this species is helpful by nature. And the relationship could be very symbiotic—but only if you let it happen. And that’s where this book comes into play. Inspired by my comedy tours across the Midwest and life growing up in Wisconsin, this book is an exploration into my favorite region on Earth. Some may think the Midwest is just a bunch of bland flyover states filled with less diversity than a Monsanto monoculture. But scratch that surface with your buck knife and you’ll find rich cultures and traditions proving we’re more than just fifty shades of milk. So whether you’re a born-and-bred Midwesterner looking to sharpen your skill at apologies or a costal elite visiting the in-laws for the holidays, this book will help you navigate the Midwest, with everything from the best flannel looks to dating and mating rituals (yes, casserole is involved) to climbing the corporate corn silo to how to handle a four-way stop—and every backyard brat fry in between. And for those of you who don’t like reading, don’t worry—we’ve got pictures! Toss in illustrations, sidebars, quizzes, and jokes worthy of a supper club stall and The Midwest Survival Guide is just the walleye-deep look into this distinctive, beautiful, and bizarre American culture you’ve been looking for.

Download or read book The American Midwest written by Andrew Robert Lee Cayton and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a series of original essays ten experts consider the question of regional identity as a useful way of thinking about Midwestern history and culture.

Download or read book Mexicans in the Midwest written by and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Interior Borderlands written by Jon Lauck and published by . This book was released on 2018-01-01 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collection of essays by over 20 contributors addressing Midwest vs Great Plains identities

Download or read book Legendary Golf Clubs of the American Midwest written by John de St. Jorre and published by . This book was released on 2013-05-01 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With an introduction by Jack Nicklaus 12 Private, Legendary golf clubs in the U.S. Midwest, their golf courses, clubhouses and members are depicted in 4 color photographs with an interesting text supplied by interviews with members and staff. 416 pages. Over 700 Photographs