MIDWESTERN STORIES 

Midwestern Stories invites visitors to take a fresh look at a familiar space, exploring the complex landscape that is alternately celebrated as America’s “Heartland” and derided as “Flyover Country.” The project’s focus on individual stories reflects an awareness that the Midwest is host to a great variety of people and experiences that resist broad characterizations. 

This website is the digital iteration of a panel exhibit on display from April 23-July 12, 2021 at Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie, Indiana. The students who created the physical and digital exhibits were part of a spring 2021 course at Ball State University entitled “Midwestern Stories: Constructing Our Contemporary Identity,” taught by Dr. Kathryn Ludwig. In preparation for exhibit development, students engaged a variety of contemporary texts, including literature and television shows, and conversed with faculty from multiple disciplines to learn about Midwestern history, culture and demographics. The digital exhibit assembled here presents a deeper look at the stories presented in the panel exhibit. This site also offers student reviews of contemporary literary works by Midwestern writers and links to conversations and music collected during our semester of studying the Midwest.