The Midwest is often said to be the essence of the United States, and yet it is remarkably resistant to definition. Even its putative inhabitants, when surveyed, disagree about its nature and location. Everywhere and nowhere at once, the Midwest is frequently described less as a destination than a transit zone: “a gateway” to the West, a nexus of rivers, a collection of “flyover states” and “rustbelt cities”—as if time itself had passed through on the way to more exciting locales. And yet, like “the middle class,” “the Midwest” is the object of relentless political appeals and calculations. It is said to be “the heartland,” the “bread basket,” the “bellwether,” the “real America.” Commentators regularly invoke it as a key index of national trends. Just as often, the Midwest is stereotyped as a provincial backwater—a land of rural simplicity, racial homogeneity, old-fashioned values, and general ordinariness. Scholars, artists, cultural critics, community leaders, and journalists have relentlessly contested these stereotypes, pointing to the Midwest’s overlooked diversity, complex immigrant history, artistic productivity, and economic dynamism. Yet the need to keep debunking vague and totalizing notions of midwestern identity only testifies to their persistence.
How can a place so central to American identity be so elusive? Indeed, is there such a place—or is “the Midwest” a tenacious political fiction? What are the cultural and political effects of this concept, now and previously? What representations—in literature, visual media, journalism, history, and public culture—have underpinned conceptions of the Midwest? How do such representations relate to the complex demographic, social, economic, and experiential dimensions of life in this part of the United States?
The humanities are central to the study of such questions. As the Midwest resurges in political salience and becomes a growing focus of scholarly inquiry and grant funding, Miami is ideally situated to lead a pathbreaking study of the subject. Miami was home to one of the first scholarly journals on the subject, The Old Northwest, and many of our faculty are currently engaged in projects about the Midwest. At a time of increasing pressure on public universities, Miami’s humanities community has an opportunity to bring new understanding of our region to other scholars, students, alumni, and the public.
The 2025-26 Altman Program invites faculty to join a collaborative investigation of the Midwest and analogous regions, current and past. We invite applications from scholars working directly on the Midwest or similar regions and from anyone else who feels they can contribute to and benefit from the program. The preceding Call for Applications should be understood not as a final program description but a provocation for assembling a team of humanities experts who will refine the program collaboratively this winter. We invite applicants to suggest approaches and topics not specified above and to suggest additional framing questions, visiting speakers, co-collaborators, and program elements.
Call for Faculty Fellows and Scholars
Four Altman Faculty Fellows and up to six Altman Faculty Scholars will be appointed. All will receive $2000 in professional expenses. Altman Fellows will also receive a one-course teaching release in either the fall or the spring semester.
The structure, expectations and rewards of this program differ from older Altman Programs. Please carefully read this page and the program statement before applying.
Four Altman Faculty Fellows will play a major role in designing and leading the Altman Program. They are expected to do the following:
- Plan and oversee a yearlong Altman Faculty Seminar. The seminar meets approximately 5 times per semester on Fridays from 12-2 and concludes in a spring symposium.
- Plan and coordinate the Altman Lecture Series with the Humanities Center director.
- Advance a scholarly, creative curricular, or public project tied in some way to the program theme. The project can be part of ongoing scholarly or creative activity.
- Give a 20-minute presentation at the spring symposium.
- Link their courses to the public program, to the extent possible, so that students regularly attend public events and the program enriches their classroom inquiry.
- Serve on the Humanities Center Steering Committee during 2025-26.
- Do one of the following:
1. Two of four Altman Fellows will be selected to co-teach HUM 490 in Fall 2025 (as part of, not in addition to, their assigned teaching load).
2. Two of four Altman Fellows will help mentor the Geoffrion Undergraduate Fellows. Most of the work will be done by graduate fellows and the Associate Director of the Center. The Altman Fellows’ role is consultatory and is not a major new duty.
Approximately Six Altman Faculty Scholars are vital to the success of the program. They will be expected to the do the following:
- Participate in the Altman Faculty Seminar, which meets 5 times per semester, on Fridays from 12 pm – 2 pm, and concludes in a spring symposium.
- Give a 20-minute presentation at the spring symposium.
- Engage at meals and public events with approximately 10 visiting speakers.
- Link their courses to the public program, to the extent possible, so that students regularly attend public events and the program enriches their classroom inquiry.
- Attend two planning meetings during spring 2025 and contribute ideas to the program.
Application.
All applicants will automatically be considered first for an Altman Fellowship and then for an Altman Scholarship, unless they explicitly state otherwise. Applicants applying only for an Altman Scholarship role do not need to include a course description or project proposal. The Altman program is open only to tenure-line and TCPL faculty.
Applications should contain the following:
- Statement of Interest. In a page or less, please indicate your interest and how you might contribute to and benefit from the program. Applicants are encouraged to include program ideas, such as key questions, seminar topics, possible speakers, initiatives, or goals. How do your interests intersect with aspects of the program topic?
- Project Proposal (Altman Fellow applicants only): In a page or less, describe a research, curricular, or public project to be advanced in the program year. The project may be part of ongoing research or creative activity. Include overall project goals, details of work to be done, and timeline.
- Course Proposal (Altman Fellow applicants only): In a paragraph, describe a possible HUM 490 course topic that in some way speaks to “the Midwest.” No syllabus is necessary. Please provide a general description of major questions and topics, possible readings, and possible assignments. A single, team-taught section of HUM 490 will be offered in Fall 2025. It will count toward the normal teaching assignment of the two Altman Fellows selected to teach it. Applicants are welcome to pair up prior to application and submit collaboratively-designed proposals; to submit alone and suggest possible collaborations with specified or unspecified colleagues; or simply to submit a stand-alone course idea. The Steering Committee will look at all proposals and attempt to identify potential synergies. Before any teaching assignments are made, prospective fellows will be consulted about possible team-teaching opportunities and will have an opportunity to decide whether or not to accept offers. Applicants submitting collaborative teaching proposals should each submit their own program application.
- Personal Information: a) a one paragraph statement including a) a 1-2 sentence biographical statement of research and teaching area, current position, and years at Miami; b) list of any prior Altman Program participation; c) spring 2025 teaching schedule; d) names of two or more outstanding undergraduate or graduate students who would make good student fellows. (You do not need to ask students or consult them. The Humanities Center will reach out to nominated students and invite them to apply in the spring.)
- Program Commitment: By applying, applicants acknowledge that their schedules will allow them to participate in all activities of the Altman Program, including Altman lectures (which typically occur Monday-Thursday from 5-7 p.m.) and Faculty Seminars (which are held Fridays from 12-2 p.m.). After selection, program faculty must obtain departmental teaching and service assignments that allow them to participate fully at these times. Faculty who do not adhere to these commitments will forfeit research funding.
Please submit your application in a single PDF document
titled “[insert your last name] 2025-26 Altman Faculty Application.pdf” to
humanitiesgrants@miamioh.edu by Friday, January 3, 2025.
Please direct questions to Tim Melley, Director of the Humanities Center, at
melleytd@miamioh.edu.
