Jack Shuler, an English professor turned journalist, compared how historical events will effect present  America. He made people question what would it be like to live on an island.

Shuler presented “Buckeyes and Dixie: Race Relations in America’s Heartland” for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology guest lecture series in Drinko Library Thursday.

Shuler writes non-fiction narratives about a small town in Ohio that is known as a “sundown town.”  A sundown town believes in casting out certain races and people. Utica, Ohio is a town that has 98 percent white population. 

“It is a town that people only care about every four years,” said Shuler.

Shuler said that these sundown towns are rare, but still existing in the United States. Although Shuler is not from these towns, he is very interested in learning why towns are this way. He meets all sorts of people in the community and listens to their stories. He credits the relationships he makes with people with having the most valuable information.

“You can learn a lot if you shut up and listen,” said Shuler.

In his teachings at Denison University, he urges his students to write about what makes them uncomfortable and to question why it makes them feel that way. He also wants them to “get off the hill” and talk to people to learn how they live.

“I don’t think that Utica is any different than any place in this country,” said Shuler. “In a lot of ways, we are not talking about race.”

Marybeth Beller, an associate professor in political science, attended the lecture.

“I thought this was an excellent presentation. I’m always interested.”said Beller.

Shuler’s essay was renamed “New America” from the original title “Buckeyes and Dixie: Race in America’s Heartland.”

Saddie Helmick can be contaced at [email protected]