POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — College of the Ozarks English Department hosted the Christianity and Literature Midwest and Southwest Regional Conference Sept. 25-26. More than 60 people, including College of the Ozarks students and professionals from across the country, attended the event.

The Christianity and Literature organization publishes a journal celebrating faith-based literary scholarship and hosts conferences across the country each year. This was the first time College of the Ozarks hosted the conference. The theme was “Taking Care,” and the keynote speaker was Dr. Jeff Bilbro, professor of English at Grove City College and editor-in-chief of Front Porch Republic.

College of the Ozarks English Department faculty members served as moderators and presented papers during panels addressing three topics: Familial Care, The Secular and the Divine, and Place in American Literature.

Associate Professor of English Dr. Charity Gibson served as the campus organizer and representative, collaborating with regional leaders from Wheaton College and Dallas Baptist University. Regarding overseeing the event, Gibson said, “Hosting the conference was an opportunity to offer hospitality and to celebrate scholarship inspired by a Christian worldview.”

Sophomore English and Journalism major Molly McNeill reflected on her experience attending the conference, saying, “It was such a blessing to get to hear from so many professors I already look up to, and to hear new ideas and perspectives from visiting scholars.” 

College of the Ozarks Faculty lectures:

• Dr. Charity Gibson – “Representations of Restorative Maternal Care in Burnett’s The Secret Garden”
• Dr. Ethan Smilie – “Heroic Care Inside and Outside Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little Houses”
• Dr. Anthony Cirilla – “Caring for the Mind: Parables and Poetics in Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy”
• Dr. David Pedersen – “Taking Care of Doubt: Human Contingency and Boethian Consolation in Solomon and Saturn II”
• Dr. Aleshia O’Neal – “Maintaining a Posture of Care: Ozark Folktales and Hill Community Narratives Depicted in Charlie May Simon’s Straw in the Sun”
• Sara Osborne – “Filling Empty Hands: Willa Cather’s O Pioneers! And the Contemporary Care for Place”
• Dr. Matt Miller – “Caretakers of Lost Places”

Two current C of O English majors, Ciela Vinson and Lindsey Nichols, presented their creative works at the conference. Two college alumni, Michaela Plumb (currently earning a master’s in English literature from Missouri State University) and James Zeller (recently graduated from the University of Dallas’ Ph.D. Program) presented academic papers.

On presenting her one-act play, senior English major Lindsey Nichols said, “I was very lucky to be able to share my own work and discuss how AI affects the relationships between parents and children and how one must take care when interacting with technology. Overall, it was a very rewarding experience.”