Save the Date for the Oxford Conference for the Book

The 23rd Annual Oxford Conference for the Book (OCB) is set for March 2–4, 2016, to bring together fiction and nonfiction writers, journalists, poets, publishers, teachers, and students for three days of readings, lectures, panels, workshops, and social events that celebrate the written word.

Southern Studies Grad Students Introduce the New First-Year Class

The members of the 2017 MA cohort have never met a stranger—including each other. Our fast bond stems from shared appreciation of Southern music, happy hour, and good food. We’re excited to spend the new two years collaborating with each other, especially considering the wide range of backgrounds we bring to the table. Here, we introduce ourselves and our favorite songs, in the hope that you will join us for a karaoke night out.

The Center Welcomes Three New Faces This Fall

Those who have attended the Center’s weekly Brown Bag Lecture Series and other events in Barnard Observatory over the years will now be greeted by a new receptionist—one who may, in fact, be recognizable. In early September, Margaret Gaffney joined the Center staff as its new staff assistant.

The Center Remembers Longtime Supporter Becky Feder

The Center Remembers Longtime Supporter Becky Feder We were very sad to learn of the passing of Becky Feder last week after a short fight with cancer. Becky, with her husband Ron, have for many years supported various Center programs through their foundation, the R&B Feder Foundation for the Beaux Arts. The Feders have been

Arts Commission Re-launches Digital MISSISSIPPI FOLKLIFE

The Mississippi Arts Commission today launched a new digital version of the journal Mississippi Folklife, a publication with a long history at the Center. Congratulations to the MAC, and especially Jennifer Joy Jameson, the Folk and Traditional Arts Director, managing editor. We’re particularly excited about the involvement of Amanda Malloy, a current SST graduate student who serves as Visual Arts Editor. Amy C. Evans, former SFA oral historian, is the Custom Editor. Mississippi Folklife will also include a “Mississippi Stories” series of films produced by Rex Jones of the Southern Documentary Project.

Grad Student Guest Post: Recap with the Second Years

Last year I introduced my cohort to the Southern Studies community in an article written for the Southern Register. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we had no idea what a tempestuous journey we were in for. Acclimatizing to the sleep deprivation and never-ending workload endemic to graduate school was an experience we won’t easily forget, but, engaging classes, supportive faculty and an ever-compelling South to study made the challenge entirely worthwhile. I caught up with my cohort, now seasoned graduate students, to hear about their individual Southern Studies experiences and to find out how their interests have changed since entering the program last fall.

We’re Hiring! Joint Faculty Appointment in Sociology/Anthropology and Southern Studies

Faculty Job Posting: Assistant Professor of Sociology or Anthropology and Southern Studies The Department of Sociology and Anthropology (socanth.olemiss.edu) and the Center for the Study of Southern Culture (southernstudies.olemiss.edu) at the University of Mississippi invite applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Sociology or Anthropology with a joint appointment in Southern Studies starting Fall

New Book of Essential 1960s Blues Interviews Coedited by Mark Camarigg

In 1963, the magazine Blues Unlimited was instrumental to the British blues revival by giving voice to famous, forgotten, undiscovered, or underappreciated blues musicians from the US. The magazine set the standard for documenting blues history through the use of long-form interviews, and in many ways it paved the way for magazines such as Living Blues.

Watch the New SouthDocs/MDAH Voting Rights Act Film

A few weeks ago we had the premiere screening of a new SouthDocs short about the 1965 Voting Rights in Mississippi, produced in partnership with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. You can now watch it on the MDAH YouTube page and below. Read more about the film on the MDAH website, too.

Interview and Lecture by Gilder-Jordan Speaker Theda Perdue Available

GIlder-Jordan Lecture with Theda Perdue Recap Dr. Theda Perdue presented the 2015 Gilder-Jordan Lecture in Southern Cultural History on September 9. Her talk, partially inspired by the religious studies scholarship of Charles Reagan Wilson, was titled “Indians and Christianity in the New South.” On the morning of the lecture, Dr. Mikaëla M. Adams of the