Dissent in the Heartland, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Sixties at Indiana University

During the 1960s in the heartlands of America—a region of farmland, conservative politics, and traditional family values—students at Indiana University were transformed by their realization that the personal was the political. Taking to the streets, they made their voices heard on issues from local matters, such as dorm curfews and self-governance, to national issues of racism, sexism, and the Vietnam War. In this grassroots view of student activism, Mary Ann Wynkoop documents how students became antiwar protestors, civil rights activists, members of the counterculture, and feminists who shaped a protest movement that changed the heart of Middle America and redefined higher education, politics, and cultural values. Based on research in primary sources, interviews, and FBI files, Dissent in the Heartland reveals the Midwestern pulse of the 1960s beating firmly, far from the elite schools and urban centers of the East and West. This revised edition includes a new introduction and epilogue that document how deeply students were transformed by their time at IU, evidenced by their continued activism and deep impact on the political, civil, and social landscapes of their communities and country.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction to the New Edition Introduction Prologue 1. The Dawn of Dissent 2. The Awakening of Activism 3. The Antiwar Movement 4. A Precarious Peace 5. Student Rights/Civil Rights: African Americans and the Struggle for Racial Justice 6. The Women's Movement: An Idea Whose Time Had Come 7. Bloomington and the Counterculture in Southern Indiana Epilogue: The End of an Era at Indiana University Epilogue to the New Edition Conclusion Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Mary Ann Wynkoop retired as Director of the American Studies Program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Since then, she has consulted on projects for Kansas City Public Television, the Henry W. Bloch Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Review :
This splendid historical piece demonstrates an important point: how the convergence of local events and values associated with the civil rights, antiwar, and women's movements of that era transformed the culture of a unique town and gown community. A relatively conservative campus and its surrounding city were changed profoundly by students, who for the most part mobilized around purely local and very personal issues, including dormitory hour restrictions for women students on campus. . . . Summing Up: Highly recommended. More than other local histories of campus activism during this period, Dissent in the Heartland introduces national themes and events, and successfully places Indiana University into that context. The research in primary sources, including FBI files, along with numerous interviews, is superior, and the writing is lucid and at times provocative. More than other local histories of campus activism during this period, Dissent in the Heartland introduces national themes and events, and successfully places Indiana University into that context. The research in primary sources, including FBI files, along with numerous interviews, is superior, and the writing is lucid and at times provocative. This splendid historical piece demonstrates an important point: how the convergence of local events and values associated with the civil rights, antiwar, and women's movements of that era transformed the culture of a unique town and gown community. A relatively conservative campus and its surrounding city were changed profoundly by students, who for the most part mobilized around purely local and very personal issues, including dormitory hour restrictions for women students on campus. . . . Summing Up: Highly recommended.