Graduate Liberal Studies Program

Course Description

GLS 592: The South: A Historical and Cultural Interpretation

Instructor: Anthony James

Jim Crow bookcover Lost Revolutions bookcover Confederates in the Attic bookcover

This class will use a topical approach to explore the post-Civil War South, looking at the themes of southern regional distinctiveness, and the contributions of the South to American culture. Possible topics, among many, include the lingering influence of the Civil War, race relations, religion, changes in economic life and work patterns, music, literature, foodways, gender roles and sexuality, sports, ethnicity, the environment, violence, politics, and folklore. Weekly readings, drawn from selected articles and a few books, will shape class discussion. There will be six short writing assignments, and a longer research project on a topic of your choice related to the larger themes of the class.

Texts:

  • Chafe, William, et al. Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South. New Press, 2003. ISBN: 1565847784
  • Cobb, James C and William Stueck. Globalization and the American South. U. of Georgia Press, 2005. ISBN: 0820326488
  • Cobb, James C. Away Down South: A History of Southern Identity. Oxford University Press, 2005.ISBN: 0195089596
  • Daniel, Pete. Lost Revolutions: The South in the 1950s. ISBN: 0807848484
  • Horwitz, Tony. Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War. Vintage, 1999. ISBN: 067976833X

Last Update:February 10, 2008