Ozarks Symposium 2015
Call for Proposals
Deadline: April 30, 2015
The Ozarks Studies Committee at Missouri State University-West Plains seeks proposals for its ninth annual symposium. The symposium will take place September 18 and 19, 2015, on the MSU campus in West Plains, Missouri.
The theme of this symposium is “The Lure of the Ozarks.” This broad theme is intended to accommodate a wide variety of topics related to why people have been attracted to the Ozarks and the outcomes of this attraction. Possible topics might include natural resources, privacy, land prices, missionary work, farming, the timber industry, escape, urban sprawl, religion, education, back-to-the-land movements, entertainment, tourism, recreation, race, the drug trade, utopian communities, cults, politics, the cost of living, eminent domain, or geography.
For purposes of this symposium, the Ozarks is defined broadly to encompass much of Missouri and Arkansas and adjacent portions of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois.
Community members, historians, oral historians, folklorists, artists, writers, and scholars or students representing any discipline or field are invited to propose presentations consistent with this theme. Each presenter will be allotted 30 minutes; presenters will be asked to limit their prepared presentations to approximately 20 to 25 minutes to allow time for questions and discussion. Presentations may take the form of conventional conference papers or any other form suitable for such a symposium.
Proposals should be approximately 200 words and should include a preliminary summary of the content of the proposed presentation and a list of any audio-visual or other technological requirements. They should also include the submitter’s name, institutional affiliation (if applicable), complete contact information, and a biography of no more than 75 words.
Proposals should be forwarded to Dr. Phillip Howerton atPhillipHowerton@MissouriState.edu or submitted through the Symposium webpage at http://ozarksymposium.wp.missouristate.edu/. Proposals must be received by April 30, 2015to be given full consideration.