Identity of the American Midwest
In a series of often highly personal essays, this book considers the question of regional identity as a useful way of thinking about the history of the American Midwest. The contributors begin with the assumption that Midwesterners have never been as consciously regional as their fellow Americans, east, south, and west. They note the particular absence of the Midwest from the recent revival of interest in American regionalism among both scholars and journalists. Drawing on personal experiences as well as a wide variety of scholarship, the authors consider what it means to be from the Midwest and why Midwesterners have traditionally been less assertive about their regional identity than other Americans.
Andrew R. L. Cayton is Distinguished Professor of History at Miami University. He is co-editor of The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia (IUP, 2007).
Susan E. Gray is Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University and author of The Yankee West: Community Life on the Michigan Frontier.