"A Ghost Among Regions": Considering a Spectral History of the Midwest

"A Ghost Among Regions"Considering a Spectral History of the Midwest Amy Laurel Fluker (bio) As with any good ghost story, this essay must begin with a death. In 2008, historian Ginette Aley effectively declared the field of Midwestern history dead—killed by decades of scholarly neglect—and dubbed the Midwest "a ghost among regions."1 Thanks to the concerted efforts of many devoted regionalists over the last decade, Midwestern history has experienced a rebirth. Still, Aley's characterization of the Midwest offers an intriguing means of considering the state of the field today. While perhaps little more than a shade of its former self, the field has transcended its own ignominious demise. More compelling still, it has returned from beyond the grave with new insights to impart. These new insights are not necessarily related to ghosts, though it is worth acknowledging that the Midwest is full of ghost-lore. Indeed, the "haunted history" genre might well be the most popular branch of Mid-western history. It certainly occupies a significant corner of the publication market. At least three book series, including Sterling Publishing's Weird U.S. as well as the History Press's "Haunted America" and "American Legends" series, offer dozens of volumes chronicling a wealth of spooky stories peculiar to each of the states. The Midwest is well-represented in these publications, indicating that its dark, strange, and ghostly history is generally understood to be part of what makes the region unique. While entertaining and worthy of study, however, ghost stories in and of themselves do not necessarily promise new directions for Midwestern scholarship but rather spectral theory does. This theoretical framework, bridging popular interest and academic scholarship, can open a new lens on this place, its culture, and its people. Metaphorically speaking, ghosts would enable historians to craft a different narrative of the region—one that End Page 69 encompasses its past, present, and future. Such a narrative has the potential to encourage the revitalization of the field and foster a more optimistic perspective on the Midwest as a whole. This theoretical approach, following what has been called the "spectral turn," first emerged in academic literature with the publication of philosopher Jacques Derrida's Specters of Marx (1993).2 In this work, Derrida challenges a claim that the fall of the Soviet Union brought an end to history—and more specifically, that it brought an end to the conflicts between liberalism and alternative political ideologies that shaped history through the twentieth century.3 Derrida disagrees, using ghosts as a metaphor to deconstruct teleology. Like ghosts, he insists, Marx's ideas are not bound by time. They exist in the past, present, and future simultaneously. Derrida argues that history does not end, it lingers. Out of time, as a kind of haunting, its effects are continually felt.4 Spectral theory is complex, but it enabled Derrida to answer a dire question facing the discipline of philosophy at the end of the Cold War: "Whither Marxism?"5 A similar question has inspired this volume: "Whither the Midwest?" As historians consider future directions for Midwestern studies, spectral theory may prove useful. It would allow historians to join scholars in a variety of disciplines who have applied Derrida's theory to better understand the multitude of invisible forces that give order and meaning to the world.6 It might seem doubtful that ghosts could impart anything useful to historians. After all, historians deal in evidence and, by their very natures, ghosts are ephemeral. Derrida recognizes this intellectual hurdle. He admits that "A traditional scholar does not believe in ghosts—nor in all that could be called the virtual space of spectrality."7 That said, historians accept the influence of other intangible forces over human agency. As professor Renée L. Bergland observes, "nation, race, class, and gender can all be understood as ghostly entities. They may be imaginary, but they structure our lives nonetheless." Therefore, she concludes, "All of us must believe in ghosts, just as we believe in stories, in histories, or in memories."8 Of all such ghostly forces, regionalism is particularly well-suited to spectral theory. It is no less real for being unseen; no less powerful...