Presented by the Department of English, Philosophy and World Languages and Black River Community College
Delta Symposium 30: It’s About Time
2025 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Events will be held in the Arkansas State University Museum, Carl R. Reng Student Union, and Bradbury Art Museum
Wednesday, April 9
12:30 – 1:15 Middle Eastern Connections
Presentations
“A Journey from Jordan to Jonesboro” Dua Faouri (Arkansas State University)
“The Role of Media in Promoting Islamophobia”
Saba Jamshed (Arkansas State University)
Moderated by Kerri Bennett
A-State Carl R. Reng Student Union, Mockingbird Room
1:30 – 2:45 News and Media in Changing Times
Research Presentations
“Making Old News Relevant Again: The Arkansas Digital News Project and the Arkansas Delta ” Darren Bell (Arkansas State University)
“Newspapers and the Evolving Digital Landscape: Will They Survive This Time?”
Lillie M. Fears (Arkansas State University)
Moderated by Kerri Bennett
A-State Carl R. Reng Student Union, Mockingbird Room
3:00 – 4:30 Challenges and Opportunities in Supporting Communities
Presentations and Applied Research
“A Few Months in the Delta: The Arkansas State University Heritage Sites as a Window into the Rapid Changes of the New Deal” Adam Long (Arkansas State University)
“Bridging Barriers: Philanthropy’s Role in Economic Empowerment in the Delta
”
Abe Hudson (Walton Family Foundation)
Moderated by Kristen Ruccio
A-State Carl R. Reng Student Union, Mockingbird Room
5:00 – 6:30 Listening to Writers
“Cover Me Up: Quilts and their Substitutes in Southern Fiction” Kay Walter and Arley-Beth Cravey (University of Arkansas at Monticello)
Creative Writing
“.357 Magnum” Alice Kinder (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
“The Velda Rose” Joseph William Thomas (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
Tributary Preview
Moderated by Kristen Ruccio
A-State Carl R. Reng Student Union, Mockingbird Room
2:00 – 3:15 Writing from Places, Spaces, and Times
Creative Writing
Charley Sandage (Mountain View, AR): “Writing Your Roots”
Frank Thurmond (University of Arkansas – Little Rock): ‘Southward Bound on the Mississippi”
Khem Aryal
Mike Spikes
Moderated by Khem Aryal
ASU Museum, Room 157
3:30 – 4:30 Weather, Climate, and Literature
Research Presentations
Lauren Adams Willette (Arkansas State University): “Botanizing’ on the Tatum’s Ozark 80”: The Nature Writing of Billy Joe Tatum
James Stannard (University of Essex): “Water: That’s Where to Die’: Flooding, Freedom and Imprisonment
Moderated by Kristen Ruccio
ASU Museum, Room 157
Refreshments to follow
5:00 – 6:00 Talking about Books
Writers Roundtable and Meetup
Khem Aryal
Kristen Bradley
Gregory Hansen
Bryan Moore
Anne Pryor and Steven A. Ackerman
Moderated by Rachael Isom
ASU Museum, Room 157
6:00 – 6:45 Preview of writings within A-State’s student literary magazine, Tributary
Moderated by Jessica Tran, Tributary editor
Friday, April 5
8:30 – 9:45 Weatherlore and Arkansas Folklife
A-State Student Panel
Gabriela Alonso: “Comparing Beliefs from Arkansas and California”
Anna Cox: “The Tornado is Coming for the Hospital -- I Love You”: Dark Humor in the Wake of Natural Disasters
Kirby Medlock: “The Embodiment of Prediction within Weatherlore”
Amanda Trusty: “Falconry within Arkansas Ecosystems – Insights from Fieldwork with Master Falconer Heath Garner
Panel Organized and Moderated by Gregory Hansen
Guest Commentator -- Kristen Bradley (Nashville State Community College)
A-State Carl R. Reng Student Union, Mockingbird Room
10:00 – 10:50 Climate, Culture, and Historic Preservation
Research Presentations
Susan Roach (Louisiana Tech University, Emerita): Preserving a Delta Plantation Church for the Louisiana Easter Rock
Maida Owens (Louisiana Folklife Program): Bay Culture Collaborative:
The Intersection of Culture and Land Loss
Moderated by Ed Salo
A-State Carl R. Reng Student Union, Mockingbird Room
11:00 – 12:15 Contemporary Weatherlore
Research Presentations
John Fisher (Freelance writer, Kennett, Missouri): Missouri Bootheel Weatherlore
Anne Pryor and Steven A. Ackerman (Madison, Wisconsin): From Ice Saints to Conspirators: A Forecast for Weather Folklore
William M. Clements (Independent, Jonesboro, Arkansas): Delta Tornado Lore
Moderated by Kerri L. Bennett
A-State Carl R. Reng Student Union, Mockingbird Room
12:30 – 1:30 Narratives, Media, and Weather
Presentations
Patty S. Camp (Northeast Arkansas Master Naturalist): Hey, I’m Just Here for the Eclipse
Juli Jackson (University of Mississippi): Cultivating Stories: Exploring Agricultural Histories and Weathered Narratives in the Developing TV Series “Delta”
Moderated by LaDawn Fuhr
A-State Carl R. Reng Student Union, Mockingbird Room
2:00 – 2:40 Talking with a Meteorologist
Presentation on Work of Meteorologists in the Delta
Aaron Castleberry (KAIT Morning/Midday Meteorologist)
Moderated by Gregory Hansen
A-State Carl R. Reng Student Union, Mockingbird Room
3:00 – 4:15 Keynote Presentation
Les Johnson (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
Introduced by Aaron Castleberry, KAIT
A-State Carl R. Reng Student Union, Auditorium
Reception to follow in Vaughn Lounge
5:00 – 6:00 Dancing About the Weather
Performance
Facet Dance Collective of Arkansas
Coordinated by Jessica Maddox
A-State Carl R. Reng Student Union, Auditorium
7:00 – 8:30 Creative Writing and Poetry
Welcoming Remarks by Bryan Moore, Assistant Chair, Department of English Philosophy, and World Languages
Readings
Mara W. Cohen Ioannides
John Zheng
Bradbury Art Museum
The Delta Symposium and the Arkansas Roots Music Festival are made possible with support from KASU 91.9 FM, A-State Heritage Sites, and Arkansas Folk and Traditional Arts.
