A bar full of academics, a few old-fashioneds and Donald Trump spur Midwest history resurgence

Kathy Borkowski said the Midwestern History Association got its start in Wisconsin in "true Midwestern fashion."

Over a few beers and more than one old-fashioned at Buckster's Lounge in Hudson, about 30 academics gathered in 2013 to talk about Midwestern history.

The discussion was triggered by a South Dakotan named Jon K. Lauck, who was fired with the idea that the region needed a historical association to call its own. A working group was formed and the association was up and running in 2014.

"We sort of felt like we were in the flyover zone and needed to do something about that and needed to start highlighting what happens in the Midwest and how that is different from the coasts," said Borkowski, director of the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

The study of Midwestern history is now having a moment.

In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, when Donald Trump claimed the White House by piling up unexpected wins in states like Wisconsin and Michigan, national attention has focused on the Midwest. Pundits and pollsters are still trying to figure out what happened.

And Midwestern history is enjoying a resurgence, fueled by the Midwestern History Association, which in June held its third annual conference in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Two prominent journals have been created, Middle West Review and Studies in Midwestern History.

And Lauck is out with a new book that celebrates the study of the Midwest and has gotten some traction outside of academia.

"From Warm Center to Ragged Edge: The Erosion of Midwestern Literary and Historical Regionalism, 1920-1965" describes the decline in Midwestern regionalism and history and a potential revival.

"I think underneath a lot of the friction in our politics today is a yearning for a real sense of pluralism in the country," Lauck said in an interview. "There is a lot of frustration with the coasts dominating media and culture. Well, places like Wisconsin have lots of culture, too, and a strong literary tradition and voices. This is an important time to hear those voices again."

Wisconsin historians who focus on the Midwest are yearning to be read and heard. And some have noticed there has been a change in the past few months as interest in the region has increased.

Borkowski argues that over the decades "there have always been people doing really good history in the Midwest. A lot of good scholarship has happened, but it has been under the radar for a while."

"I'm an old guy. And all of a sudden I've got requests coming from every direction," said Jerry Apps, who has written more than 35 books and created documentaries that have aired nationally on PBS. "For years, I worked my tail off to find a publisher and now the publishers are coming to me. That's unbelievable."

"I am abundantly pleased that the reading public has discovered or perhaps rediscovered the importance and values associated with the Midwest," he said.

Patty Loew, a former University of Wisconsin-Madison professor whose area of expertise is American Indian history, said she didn't think Midwestern history ever "fell out of favor."

"I've always been kind of a hyperlocal historian," said Loew, who in September will become inaugural director of Northwestern University's indigenous research center at the Medill School of Journalism. "Is our history any less interesting than Southern history or Western history?"

Robert Smith, a historian focused on the intersection of race and law, said there has always been a keen interest in Midwestern history focused on major cities like Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee.

But the canvas is far bigger in a region that sprawls through 12 states — Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Missouri and Kansas.

"I don't know how much people outside of Illinois and Wisconsin think about the Midwestern experience," said Smith, who is moving from UW-Milwaukee to Marquette University, where he'll direct the Center for Urban Research, Teaching and Outreach.

Sergio González, a doctoral candidate in the UW-Madison history department, is excited about the field he'll be entering, especially with his focus on the Midwest. In the fall, he'll publish "Mexicans in Wisconsin."

"After the 2016 election there is this renewed need to understand what is the Midwest," he said. "We hear those terms of  'flyover country' and 'American heartland.' But those are monikers thrown out in the popular press."

In June, González attended his first Midwestern History Association conference and was excited about the prospects for the field.

"It was interesting to see the mix of ages," he said. "You had people who are doing this for awhile and also plenty of younger graduate students and faculty. You're seeing the full spectrum come out in 2017."