CALL FOR PAPERS

War and the West
17th Annual Mari Sandoz Heritage Society Conference
March 30 to April 1, 2006
Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center
Chadron State College
Chadron, Nebraska

Taking inspiration from our theme book for the 2006 conference, The
Tom-Walker, the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society invites proposals for
individual papers or panel presentations related to the subject of "War
and the West," particularly the treatment or depiction of soldiers
departing from rural areas—from the "heartland" of America, so to
speak—to fight in far off engagements, and their subsequent returns to
their communities in the West. In her 1947 novel The Tom-Walker, Sandoz
charts the impact of three wars across three generations of soldiers in
a single family. After losing his leg fighting in Grant's Army, the
patriarch, Milt Stone "takes his family west to the Missouri country.
There he gains a reputation as a raconteur and as a passionate defender
of the little man who works hard, fights the wars, and gets squeezed
out by powerful interests. He lives to see his son and grandson fight
in World War I and World War II, respectively, and return home from
those wars, maimed like him, only to have to resume a fight just to
stay alive." (UNL Press).

Proposals are welcome from across the disciplines. We are particularly
interested in literary and historical studies that explore this theme
through a "Western" lens. Papers related to the issue of war injuries,
the draft, the divide between Washington (where wars are managed) and
the West (where so many of the fighting men come from), to the military
impact in the West (bases, ranges, testing, P.O.W. internment, etc.) to
the politics and divisions of war policies, patriotism, "hawks" and
"doves" in the West (past and present), to the literary depictions of
Westerners (including Native Americans) in both combat and the home
front are welcome.

Proposals for individual papers should be one or two paragraphs; panel
proposals should include a brief abstract of each paper. Deadline for
submission is JANURAY 15, 2006. Please include complete contact
information, including Name, Affiliation, email address, mailing
address and phone number, and submit to:

Sandoz Conference
c/o Dr. Matthew Evertson
Department of Language and Literature
Chadron State College
1000 Main St.
Chadron, NE. 69337

About the Annual Conference:
In its 17th year, the annual conference offers an opportunity for
scholars, western enthusiasts and fans of Sandoz to gather and discuss
the kind of issues and ideas of the Great Plains region that inspired
her own written work. Beginning with a selected work from Sandoz,
panels and presentations are organized around the general theme. A
keynote presentation takes place on the opening night of the
conference. For example, the 2004 conference focused on Sandoz's The
Buffalo Hunters, and featured a keynote address by Elliott West, noted
western scholar and author of The Contested Plains, as well as a
reading by Dan O'Brien from his critically acclaimed memoir Buffalo for
the Broken Heart. The 2005 conference focused on the them of the
Blizzard of 1949 and Sandoz's 1954 novelette Winter Thunder. Willaim C.
Kloefkorn, Nebraska State Poet, gave the keynote presentation, while
the conference featured several panels and discussions relating to the
"blizzard" as a theme in western history and literature, and the
Blizzard of 1949 in particular. Field trips are scheduled with each
conference and have recently included tours of the famous "Spade" Ranch
in the sprawling Nebraska Sandhills, the reconstructed Cavalry Barracks
at Fort Robinson (site of the 1878 Cheyenne "Breakout") and the nearby
Museum of the Fur-Trade.

About Chadron State College and the High Plains Heritage Center:
The Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center is located on the campus of
Chadron State College, nestled in northwest Nebraska along the scenic
Pine Ridge. Chadron State Park, Fort Robinson and the Black Hills
Region (including Mount Rushmore and the Badlands) are all within easy
driving distance of the campus. Outdoor recreational opportunities such
as fishing, hunting and cross-country skiing abound in the area.
"Outside Magazine" has selected Dawes County where Chadron is located
as one of the nation's top 100 counties in which to live. In early
2000, "Sports Afield" designated Chadron as one of the "top 50 outdoor
sports towns" in the nation and also said Chadron was one of the four
best mountain biking towns in the United States. The area has a rich
agricultural base, possessing some of the best cattle ranching land in
the world. Chadron is a community of nearly 6,000 and possesses many of
the cultural and civic opportunities of larger population centers.
Chadron State is the only senior-level, accredited college in the
western half of Nebraska.

The Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center is an extensively renovated
former campus "Carnegie-style" library, listed on the National Register
of Historic places. Opened in September, 2002, the center features
exhibits, a preservation/preparation workroom equipped with
state-of-the-art technology and an archival library. The Center also
serves as the repository for the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society, which
has loaned its expansive collection of Sandoz materials for the
exhibits and archives. The Society assists in educational programming
and encourages research and publishing about the High Plains region. An
adjacent two-story atrium has been named for lead donors, Vernon P. and
Madge Fortune Chicoine. It provides additonal space for exhibits,
meetings and social events.

Contact Information:
Dr. Matthew Evertson, Department of Language and Literature, Chadron
State College
mevertson_at_csc.edu

Chadron State College: www.csc.edu
Sandoz Information: www.marisandoz.org & www.csc.edu/sandoz

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Received on Thu Nov 03 2005 - 12:46:32 EST