The Mississippi Encyclopedia is a collaborative project organized by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, in partnership with the Mississippi Humanities Council, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Mississippi Arts Commission, the University Press of Mississippi, and countless scholars and writers interested in Mississippi.

The volume will be published by the University Press of Mississippi.

The Mississippi Encyclopedia will be an interdisciplinary volume, based on historical study and including contributions on literature, art and architecture, music, folk life, religion, and a wide range of other themes. It will study both past and present, and will include every county in the state, extended essays on each of the state’s sub-regions, special concentration on the state’s writers, musicians, and artists, and full treatment of state and local politics. Consisting of one volume, it will use an A to Z format and include numerous illustrations.

To view a list of all topics explored in the Mississippi Encyclopedia, click here.

The goals of the Mississippi Encyclopedia are to be authoritative and scholarly, comprehensive, interesting, and relevant. Relying on 30 associate editors to suggest topics and contributors in their fields, the encyclopedia will reflect the diversity of the state’s regions and experiences, honor its creativity, and recognize both its problems and achievements. It should be attractive and useful for scholars, students, and a broad reading public.

Topic areas for organizing topics: Agriculture, Archaeology, Architecture, Art, Civil Rights, Civil War, Contemporary Issues, Drama, Education, Environment, Ethnicity, Fiction, Folklife, Foodways, Geography, Industry and Industrial Workers, Law, Medicine, Music, Myths and Representations, Native Americans, Non-fiction, Poetry, Political History, Press, Religion, Social and Economic History, 1817-1890, Social and Economic History, 1890-1954, Sports, Women

Mississippi Encyclopedia Editorial Staff

Co-editors

Ted Ownby, Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, University of Mississippi

Charles Reagan Wilson, Professor of History and Southern Studies University of Mississippi

Ann Abadie, Center for the Study of Southern Culture, University of Mississippi

Managing Editor: Odie Lindsey

Associate Editors

Civil War: Michael Ballard, University Archivist, Mitchell Library, Mississippi State University

Geography: Joby Bass, Geography, University of Southern Mississippi

Music: Michael Bertrand, History, Tennessee State University

Visual Arts: Patti Carr Black, Author/former director of the Old Capitol Museum, Jackson, MS

Social and Economic History, 1817-1890: Charles Bolton, History, University of North Carolina Greensboro

Politics and Political History: Bradley Bond, History, Northern Illinois University

Native Americans: Deborah Boykin, Tribal Archivist, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

Environment: Mikko Saiku, American Studies, Helsinki University (Finland) and Wiley Prewitt, Oxford, MS

Contemporary Issues: Mary Coleman, Political Science, Jackson State University

Poetry: Michael Dean, English, University of Mississippi

Foodways: John T. Edge, Southern Foodways Alliance, University of Mississippi

Industry and Industrial Workers: James Fickle, History, University of Memphis

Agriculture: Valerie Grim, African American Studies, Indiana University

Architecture: Robert Ivy, Architectural Record

Civil Rights: Robert Jenkins, History, Mississippi State University

Social and Economic History, 1890-1954: Connie Lester, History, University of Central Florida

Folklife: Larry Morrisey, Mississippi Arts Commission

Non-fiction Robert Phillips, English, Mississippi State University

Fiction: Noel Polk, English, Mississippi State University

Sports: Charles K. Ross, African American Studies and History, University of Mississippi

Education David Sansing, History, University of Mississippi

Women: Martha Swain, History, Mississippi State University

Press: Julius E. Thompson, (deceased) History, University of Missouri

Law: Christopher Waldrep, History, San Francisco State University

Myths and Representations: Trent Watts, American Studies, Missouri Institute of Science and Technology (check name)

Ethnicity: Clive Webb, Sussex University (UK)

Religion: Ted Ownby, Southern Studies and History, University of Mississippi

Medicine, Luke Lampton, Magnolia, MS

Drama: Kenneth Holditch, New Orleans, LA

Archaeology: Jay Johnson, Anthropology, University of Mississippi