Regional Renewal

The American Midwest and the Idea of Regionalism traces the birth, rise, and evolution of regional thought in the American Midwest from the concept's emergence in the 1890s to its national and global implications in the early 21st century. In three parts, author Michael C. Steiner describes how the idea of regionalism arose from the American Midwest, drawing connections between and across many of the cultural movements and actors of US history. First, Steiner outlines how the Middle West, as a constellation of Native and settler cultures, gave rise to the nation's first regional thought. He then focuses on the lives and theories of the most significant contributors to this philosophy—John Wesley Powell, Jane Addams, Frederick Jackson Turner, and Hamlin Garland—before examining its evolution in the first half of the 20th century with the influence of Black intellectuals and artists, from Langston Hughes and Gordon Parks to Margaret Walker and Richard Wright. Following their enduring impact through works of the latter part of the century, Steiner completes his survey with the wide-ranging works of Gwendolyn Brooks, Nelson Algren, and Meridel Le Sueur. Finally, he considers how regionalism has expanded and evolved as a "forever agenda" into our current era. A deep dive into the rich patchwork of racial, ethnic, and radical cultures that is the Midwest, The American Midwest and the Idea of Regionalism is a creative intellectual history that will appeal to a wide range of readers.