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Education news and issues in the Ozarks.

Getting to Know the Real Ozarks

A History of the Ozarks, Volume 1: The Old Ozarks

Spreading across roughly 40,000-45,000 square miles, the Ozarks covers much of the southern half of Missouri and a large part of northern Arkansas. It also extends into northeast Oklahoma and southeast Kansas.

There are many stereotypes about the Ozarks and Ozarkers. They range from frontiersmen to hillbillies to moonshiners and banjo players.

With his research on Ozarks history, Dr. Brooks Blevins tries to dispel those misconceptions and present the most complete portrait of the region. 

Blevins, who is the Noel Boyd professor of Ozarks studies at Missouri State University, talks about his research, including his latest project.

Read the full transcipt

"A History of the Ozarks, Volume 1: The Old Ozarks" is available for purchase online. 

A native of Malaysia, Emily moved to Springfield in 2010 and started working at Missouri State University in 2014. She’s currently the assistant director in the Office of Strategic Communication. She has a BA in Mass Communications from Colorado State University-Pueblo and a Master of Journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.
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