JC Shepard
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jcshepard.bsky.social
JC Shepard
@jcshepard.bsky.social
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Americana
David is working on a project with @colinwoodard.bsky.social & the Nationhood Lab. Woodard’s new book Nations Apart is waiting for me back home.
November 15, 2025 at 11:41 PM
David McMahon, Kirkwood College, Iowa City, speaks on How Teaching #Midwestern Studies Can Save Democracy. He reminds us there are moser students in community colleges than in most university systems. They are certainly closer to the land.
#MiddleWestReview
November 15, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Dedra Birzer, South Dakota State Historical Society Press and Hillsdale College on a Canon of the #Midwest. We’re making progress.
November 15, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Kevin Mason, University of Northern Iowa, speaks well on Finding an Audience for #Midwestern History. And he’s got a new book coming out, Retracing the Dragoon Trail' in Iowa; one more for the To Be Read pile!
November 15, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Patrick Garry, University of South Dakota, argues #Midwest Populism focused on political corruption in its many forms, especially in Dakota Territory. In many ways it was a revival of Jeffersonian democracy & civic virtue, rather than radical reactionary activism.
#MiddleWestReview
November 15, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Michael Steiner, UCal-Fullerton zips thru a survey of #Midwestern Regional Thought. So many great thinkers & writers past, present, and future, from John Wesley Powell to those in attendance.
November 15, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Zachary Michael Jack, North Central College, examines the use of the term #Midwest.
November 15, 2025 at 8:37 PM
November 15, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Bradley Birzer, Hillsdale College, gives an amazing ode to #Midwestern Science Fiction, with case studies of Ray Bradbury, Russell Kirk’s fiction, and August Derluth (Arkham House). #SciFi can be inspirational but also a warning.

#MiddleWestReview
November 15, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Jason Phillips of Nebraska’s Peru State College gives a broad review of Modern Conservative thought & politics in the #Midwest.
November 15, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Paul Putz, Baylor University, applauds Sport in the #Midwest. From the Indianapolis 500 to #Big10 Football to Iowa Women’s Basketball and more. Who knew Willa Cather was a UNL college football fan?
#MiddleWestReview
November 15, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Cody Norling, University of West Virginia, provided an appreciative review of #Midwestern Music, as afternoon sessions resume at The Lost Region Recovery Project conference in Sioux Falls.
#Midwest #culture #music
November 15, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Douglas Reichert Powell, Columbia College, enthusiastically compares & contrasts Appalachia and the #Midwest. Similar in our differences.

By the way, CSPAN is in the room recording for later broadcast. 📺
November 15, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Christopher Laingen, Eastern Illinois University, dives deep on challenges for regional geography. We need to understand where we live—understand the big picture—now more than ever.

Can Academia be relevant for generalists? Sounds like a Midwest thing to me.
November 15, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Jeff Bremer, Iowa State University, finds the silk purse in the sow’s ear of #Midwest history. History enrollment falling: Colleges closing, etc. Conclusion: Modestly optimistic. Which is very Midwest in itself.
November 15, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Kristan Cockerill, Appalachian State University, discussed the idea of the #Midwest as “Flyover Country”. Spoiler: we do it to ourselves… so go ahead and embrace it. Like “Nebraska… we’re not for everyone”.
November 15, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Jon Lauk, University of South Dakota, opening The Lost Region Recovery Project conference on #Midwest Studies in Sioux Falls. Sponsored by Middle West Review & National Endowment for the Humanities.
November 15, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Jeff Barnes presents on Forts of the Missouri River Valley at Hruska Library, David City, Nebraska. Sponsored by Humanities Nebraska.

#NE #History #CulturalHeritage
October 15, 2025 at 5:10 PM
#Americana Music Association winners. Country music for people who can read.
September 11, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Cowboy up! National #DayoftheCowboy.
July 26, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Escape into Adventure: Six Authors Who Bring the Great Outdoors to Life! ⛰️🎣🏕️

Loved your Scouting days dreaming of the wilderness? So did I. Discover some of the authors who ignited my passion for conservation and the beauty of public lands.
#books
jcshepard.com/2025/06/grea...
June 28, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Humanities Nebraska is hosting Zahn McClarnon in Omaha come October. (Screenshot from FB)
June 28, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Pony Express is back in action this week with the re-ride west to east thru Nebraska. Alexandria memorialized the 100th anniversary ride here back in 1960.
June 19, 2025 at 10:29 PM
The Antiquities Act was signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt on 8 June 1906.

I’m writing about #Conservation & the Great Outdoors this month.

jcshepard.com/2025/06/cons...
June 8, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Wrapping May #PreservationMonth

Rural Cultural Heritage: Strategies for Strong and Resilient Communities

jcshepard.com/2025/05/rura...
June 1, 2025 at 3:35 PM