November 23, 2015

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The Grant Wood Art Colony of the University of Iowa seeks proposals for 30 minute papers that address the topic of “Myth, Memories, and the Midwest: Grant Wood and Beyond,” October 28-29, 2016.  This day-long symposium (plus a keynote address the evening before and gathering at Wood’s historic home in Iowa City) will celebrate the 125th anniversary of Grant Wood’s birth by considering a wide array of issues he regarded as important.  Papers may address Wood’s art and Regionalist imagery more generally, but may also range more widely to other artists (including recent ones who deal with regional content), aspects of Midwestern history and culture, mythmaking and American life, issues of memory and region, etc.  Other topics might include considering the ways in which art, material culture, theater, the New Deal, labor, and other important cultural aspects of Wood’s era influenced American identity, then and now.

Proposals of no more than 300 words should be submitted with a cover letter and 2 page C.V. by March 1, 2016.  We welcome proposals from emerging and established scholars from a wide range of fields, including, but not limited to Art History, American Studies, Literature, History, Political Science, Agronomy, and others. 

To submit a proposal, send a two-page abstract, one-page bibliography and a C.V. to:

Maura Pilcher
Director, Grant Wood Art Colony
1131 E. Burlington St.
Iowa City, IA 52240