Ozarks Studies Minor Gives Students New Way to Explore Arkansas

From folk traditions and local history to the landscapes and people that define the region, the Ozarks offer a rich field of study. This fall, the University of Arkansas will launch a new Ozarks Studies minor, offering students an interdisciplinary opportunity to explore it more deeply. Supported by the Department of History and the University Libraries, the program will connect students to the people, places and stories that shape the Ozarks. 

Jared Phillips, teaching associate professor and historian, said discussions about the program have been underway for years. Phillips will lead the program with the goal of showing students the complexity of the Ozarks rather than the old stereotypes. 

"I'm a proud hillbilly, but there's so much more to the Ozarks than hillbillies," Phillips said. "We're also way different than people think. We're way more interesting." 

Located in the heart of the Ozarks, the University of Arkansas is uniquely positioned to help students better understand the region. Through the minor, students will examine how the people, cultures and traditions of the Ozarks have influenced both regional and national history.  

When structuring the program, Phillips said he conducted reviews of how many times classes are offered in a four-year period, including the course he teaches on Ozark history. He created a survey for the student population and reached out to different departments for letters of commitment. 

 "If students are interested in [a minor], there's a pathway for them to do that via this study of the Ozarks," Phillips said. "It gives me a new way to help students be excited and to maintain their excitement." 

The minor will offer courses exploring topics that range from Ozarks folklore and literature to environmental history. It's designed to complement majors across the university, including journalism, political science, and more. 

"The beautiful thing about it is [that] it's an interdisciplinary minor," Phillips said. "When you look at the courses that are pulled, there's a whole bunch of different things you can take." 

Phillips said he and the other faculty supporting the minor wanted every student at the university to feel like they had a place within the Ozark studies program. He said faculty members depend on colleagues from other disciplines to help develop a humanities-based approach that fosters a fuller understanding of the human experience through the lens of the Ozarks. 

"We wanted to make sure that any student who decides to minor in [this] in a four-year period [will have] every single class that is needed available," Phillips said. 

Because there were prominent figures from the Ozarks, students will also have access to archival collections in the University Libraries, gaining more insights about how the Arkansas side of the Ozarks "makes the Ozarks the Ozarks." 

"We've got papers from various important politicians that are Ozarkers," Phillips said. 

Phillips said one aspect that makes the minor unique is the access students have to field-based learning opportunities. From historic sites such as Historic Cane Hill and Fort Chaffee to organizations like Canopy Northwest Arkansas, the nearby parts of the region serve as an extension of the classroom. 

"We are globally connected and influential in these weird ways that a lot of people don't think about when they think about the Ozarks," Phillips said. 

Phillips said he would love to see students from colleges across campus join the program because anything they learn about or how to think about the Ozarks is applicable everywhere. 

"The idea of the minor is to teach skills and to help anchor skills that are useful no matter what you end up doing," Phillips said. "Just because you take a minor in Ozark studies doesn't mean that you can only stay in the Ozarks." 

Beyond its academic offerings, Phillips said he hopes the minor will encourage students to think about what it means to live and to be in the Ozarks. He said he enjoyed seeing them get excited when telling stories about the Ozarks that "nobody would think about." 

"This is a place that my family has called home for many generations, and I'm excited to help students know more about the place they live in, whether they're just here for four years or they choose to make the Ozarks their home after graduation," Phillip said. 

The minor requires one core course, The Ozarks: People, Place, Time, taught by Phillips. Students will choose additional coursework from participating departments across the university, including African American studies, anthropology, English, geoscience, history and political science. Students interested in declaring an Ozarks studies minor can visit history.uark.edu or contact program director Jared Phillips at jmp006@uark.edu. 

Story by Shoshiana Vang, Fulbright College communications and marketing intern.