Ozarks Studies Symposium at Missouri State University-West Plains

01/22/2026

Give it a listen!

Episode 105 has posted!

Episode 105: Jason McCollom of the Ozarks Heritage Research Center Talks Saving the Ozarks

Dr. Jason McCollom, Associate Professor of History and Department Chair of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences at Missouri State University-West Plains, discusses the recently founded Ozarks Heritage Research Center, their current holdings and programs, and their plans for the future. You'll be inspired by Jason's passion for the Ozarks and his commitment to our history and culture! As long as the Ozarks have advocates like Jason, we're in good hands.

Here is the download link:
https://open.acast.com/public/streams/663b9ce758fda10012c1bdc3/episodes/697049296a445e577f0f432f.mp3

Here is the website link:
https://shows.acast.com/ozarkian-folk-chronicles/episodes/episode-105-jason-mccollom-of-the-ozarks-heritage-research-c

Here is the YouTube video link:
https://youtu.be/vTmrDCAQ7yE

You can find this episode and ALL previous episodes at ozarkianfolkchronicles.com!

For updates and new releases information follow Ozarkian Folk Chronicles Podcast and the discussion group page - Ozarkian Folk Chronicles.

09/20/2025

Packed house for Panel 6: Ozarks Biographies! The symposium continues this afternoon with a panel on storytelling in the Ozarks and a panel on literary criticism

09/19/2025

Inviting our attendees to visit Ozarks Small Business Incubator on Saturday!

🌟 Two Great Events, One Big Weekend! 🌟

This Saturday, September 20th, the Ozarks Studies Symposium at Missouri State wraps up just down the street at the Civic Center — and we’re inviting symposium attendees (and the community!) to stop by the Business Women’s Expo at OzSBI for even more Ozarks connection - and shopping!

After the thought-provoking presentations at the symposium, head over to the expo to:

✅ Meet and support local women-owned businesses
✅ Shop unique products and services
✅ Network with inspiring entrepreneurs in our community

📍 Where: OzSBI, 408 Washington Avenue, West Plains
🕒 When: Saturday, Sept. 20th, 10:00-2:00

Let’s celebrate women in business while also highlighting the rich history and culture of the Ozarks. We can’t wait to see you! 💜

09/19/2025

Panel 3 (Land, Food, and Ozarks Geography): Jared Phillips and Denise Henderson Vaughn

09/19/2025

Panel 2 (Conflict in the 20th c. Ozarks): Susan Croce Kelly, Dawn Larsen, Vincent Anderson

09/19/2025

The Ozarks Symposium Keynote Address starts at 5:30pm today! Come join us!

Olivia Paschal
University of Virginia

"Creating the Neoliberal State: Arkansas in the Clinton Era"

Olivia Paschal is a writer and historian based in the Arkansas Ozarks and in Charlottesville, VA, where she is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Virginia. Her academic work centers on labor, business, and neoliberal capitalism in Arkansas—home of Walmart, Tyson Foods, J.B. Hunt, and Bill Clinton—and her peer-reviewed scholarship has appeared in Agricultural History and the Journal of Ozarks Studies. Her essays and reporting have appeared in the New York Review of Books, The American Prospect, The Nation, The Atlantic, and The Guardian, among other publications.

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09/19/2025

Panel 1 Ozarks Fiction: Steve Wiegenstein, Jim Fowler, Mara Cohen Iaonnides, and Jo Van Arkel

09/19/2025

Great crowd for Panel 1: Ozarks Fiction!

09/18/2025

The Ozarks Symposium starts TODAY!!

Join us from 5:30-7:00pm on the mezzanine at the West Plains Civic Center for the opening exhibit and reception: War and Memory in the Ozarks

09/17/2025

Saturday, Sept. 20
The final two panels to round out the Ozarks Studies Symposium!

Panel 8: Storytelling in the Ozarks (2-3pm)
• Danette House, Traditional Ozarks Storyteller and Folk Practitioner--Feuding Families of the Ozarks
• Kim McCully-Mobley, Aurora High School/Drury University/Crowder College--Storytelling At Its Best

and...

Panel 9: Ozarks Literary Criticism (3:20-5:00pm)
• Leslie Reed, Instructor of English, Arkansas State University--New Light in a Dark World: The Rhetoric of Extinction and Survival in Daniel Woodrell’s Landscapes
• John J. Han, Professor of English and Creative Writing, Missouri Baptist University--Redemption and Exclusion: Race, Class, and Eugenics in Harold Bell Wright’s Social Vision
• Craig Albin, Professor of English, Missouri State University-West Plains--“‘Sunk to a Moaning Place’: Defying Despair in Winter’s Bone”

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09/16/2025

Onwards to Saturday, Sept. 20! The two morning panels focus on health and biography.

Panel 5: Health in the Ozarks (9:00-10:15am)
• Cathy Otten, Founder and Healthcare Coach, Patient to Partner--Take Charge of Your Healthcare: A Rural Missouri Perspective on Medical Mistrust and Patient Empowerment
• Chuck Davis, Visual Artist and Independent Curator--Healing Waters and Segregated Springs: Stereo Views of Arkansas
• Tom Kersen, Jackson State University--America's Greatest Psychic Marvel: The Strange Case of Dr. Khiro and Mr. Darnell

Panel 6: Ozarks Biographies (10:30am-12:15pm)
• David H. Jerome, University of Arkansas--Elwin “Preacher” C. Roe
• Kitty Ledbetter, Professor Emerita, Texas State University--Headed for the Big Time: Dottie Goes to Nashville
• Aleshia O’Neal, Associate Professor of English, College of the Ozarks--The Life and Work of Charlie May Simon
• Jan Stock LaFever--Lloyd “Shad” Heller's Legacy

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09/15/2025

Friday, Sept. 19
Panel 3: Land, Food, and Ozarks Geography (2:00-3:30pm)

Another fascinating panel (who am I kidding, all the panels are fascinating), featuring Dr. Phillips doing one-of-a-kind research on Ozarks farming, and the always on-point documentary film making of Denise Vaughn:

• Jared Phillips, University of Arkansas--Creating an Organic Ozarks
• Denise Henderson Vaughn, Science Journalist--Ozarks Karst Dramas (documentary screening and discussion)

Followed by some poetry!!
Panel 4: Ozarks Poetry (4:00-5:00pm)
• Michael Blanchard, University of Central Arkansas--Ozarks Pastorals - Poems of Time, Memory & Mountains
• Dave Malone, Poet and Screenwriter--Tire Lots, Grounded Grannies, and Roving Black Bears: Nature, Family, and Neighbors in Conflict and Consensus

Send a message to learn more