The journal Middle West Review seeks proposals for articles and essays for a
special symposium exploring the various dimensions of the Cold War era Midwest.
Topics may include, but are not limited to, Midwestern attitudes toward extensive
American involvement in foreign affairs during the Cold War decades; the
development of military bases and the installation of nuclear weapons in the
Midwest; the role of ethnic groups from the captive nations in domestic politics
(Poles, Hungarians, Ukrainians, etc); the experience of Midwesterners in the US
military who served in Cold War zones; Midwestern heavy industry and the
creation of the American arsenal; the influence of Cold War imperatives on the
Civil Rights movement (i.e. the Brown decision); the role Midwestern diplomats
such as George Kennan; political leaders skeptical of Cold War interventionism
such as Robert Taft and John Bricker; the Vietnam war and the Midwest;
Midwestern patriotism in a Cold War context; Midwestern conservatism and its
role in American anti-Communism; campus protests and the Midwest; the role of
Joe McCarthy of Wisconsin and similar anti-Communist political leaders; the role
of groups on the progressive left and opposition to Cold War policies; the culture
of the Cold War and domesticity; civil defense and bomb shelter construction; anti-
Communist churches and religious leaders in the Midwest; the movement of
Southeast Asian refugees to Iowa and Wisconsin and other Midwestern places;
how the Cold War was experienced differently in the Midwest than other regions;
the influence of religion in the Midwest during the Cold War era; films and
literature which connect the Cold War and the Midwest.
300-word proposals along with a vita should be sent to Middle West Review at
MWR@usd.edu by October 15, 2024. If a proposal is accepted for inclusion in the
special symposium, final articles would be due by October 15, 2025.
Middle West Review 