Middle West Review

The Middle West Review is an interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal focused on studying the American Midwest, a “lost region” which has received far less scholarly attention than other American regions.

Middle West Review is the only scholarly print publication dedicated exclusively to the study of the Midwest as a region. It provides a forum for scholars and non-scholars alike to explore the meaning of Midwestern identity, history, geography, society, culture and politics.

Overall, the mission of the Middle West Review is to join with like-minded associations, historical societies, writers and scholars to help revitalize the study of the American Midwest. The inaugural issue of the journal was published in the fall of 2014 and since 2019 Middle West Review has made the University of South Dakota its home. The journal is published by the University of Nebraska Press and you can find subscription information and other details at the University of Nebraska Press website. The journal is available electronically through Project MUSE.

Submissions

Statement of Publishing Ethics

The Middle West Review accepts submissions on a rolling basis. We encourage readers to contribute original content that deepens the public’s understanding of the American Midwest in an accessible and thoughtful manner. Some examples of submission types include the following.

Articles should run between 8,000-10,000 words and articulate a central thesis about the study of the Midwest. These works should build upon original research or new interpretations of existing sources. Book review essays should run roughly 2,000-2,500 words and discuss multiple books. Non-fiction essays should run roughly 3,000 words. See prior issues of Middle West Review for examples.

Middle West Review is eager to review new books related to the Midwest and to publish review essays which discuss groupings of recent books about the Midwest. Book review inquiries should be directed to Jonathan Kasparek at kasparej@uwm.edu.

All contributions will undergo a process of peer review spearheaded by the Middle West Review editors and executive board.

Submissions will either be accepted for publication outright, returned with a request to “revise and resubmit” or rejected outright. All submissions will benefit from the comments and revisions of the Middle West Review editors and its editorial reviewers.

Authors should consult the Chicago Manual of Style as they prepare to submit their manuscripts to Middle West Review. Works should use endnotes in accordance with that manual’s specifications. Please use Times New Roman 12-point font. All written submissions should be double-spaced and have one-inch margins on all sides. Manuscripts should be clear, concise and devoid of jargon. Refrain from using the first person or passive voice. Successful submissions will marshal a strong argument buttressed by adequate evidence, thoughtful analysis and lucid prose. Furthermore, in keeping with the journal’s mission, manuscripts should use the Midwest as a category of analysis and seek to explain why their project matters for the study of this region.

Please feel free to submit your materials at any time to MWR@USD.edu. You can also send any questions about submissions and other matters to that address.

Middle West Review embraces the principles of open inquiry, free speech, intellectual diversity, and robust debate and discussion and believes they are crucial to the proper functioning of scholarly journals, higher education, and a society where unfettered expression and deliberation are prized ideals. Middle West Review adheres to the longstanding tenet of academic freedom, which promotes an open marketplace of ideas among its editors, contributors, and readers. It strives to create a forum that reflects high standards of scholarship and places a premium on facts, logic, and evidence, as well as respecting all viewpoints embracing such standards and that are rounded in the process of critical thinking that has traditionally characterized scholarly endeavors. Middle West Review also welcomes intelligent and well-reasoned creative non-fiction and cultural criticism more generally. Toward these ends Middle West Review specifically endorses the University of Chicago's Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression (2015). More broadly, Middle West Review recognizes the importance of creating and sustaining academic and literaty outlets in the nation's tar-flung and diverse regions and embraces the goals of regionalists who have sought to resist the dominant centers of cultural production in the nation and to create more platforms in order to foster a diversity of thought and creative enterprises.

Editor-in-Chief

Jon K. Lauck
University of South Dakota
Jon.Lauck@usd.edu

Associate Editors

Jennifer Kirsten Stinson
Saginaw Valley State University

Christopher R. Laingen
Eastern Illinois University

Assistant Editors

Hannah Redder
New York University

David Grabitske
South Dakota State Historical Society

Book Review Editor

Jonathan Kasparek
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha

Media Review Editor

Adam Ochonicky
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh

Executive Editors

Richard J. Jensen
Montana State University-Billings

Paula Nelson
University of Wisconsin at Platteville

Gregory L. Schneider
Emporia State University

Graduate Student Assistant

Donald Keifert
University of South Dakota

Editorial Board

William Barillas
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Megan Birk
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

James F. Brooks
University of California-Santa Barbara

Jason Duncan
Aquinas College

Paul Finkelman
Gratz College

Patrick Garvy
University of South Dakota

David F. Good
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Jeffrey Helgeson
Texas State University-San Marcos

R. Douglas Hurt
Purdue University

Suzzanne Kelley
North Dakota State University Press

Bill Peterson
State Historical Society of North Dakota

Sara A. Kosiba
Northeast Ohio Medical University

Gregory S. Rose
The Ohio State University at Marion

Matthew Sanderson
Kansas State University

Andrew Seal
University of New Hampshire

Jeff Wells
Dickinson State University