This school year, grad student Chris Colbeck, working with the Southern Documentary Project, has done a series of interviews with speakers following their Brown Bag talks. Interviews have included questions about research inspiration and methods, the role of the academy in understanding public policy, and teaching James Agee and Walker Evans.
A new display at Rowan Oak features William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize speech. Southern Studies graduate students Amanda Malloy and Katie Gill designed and installed the display. English graduate student Sarah Altenoff provided technical assistance on the project.
By being able to succinctly develop her communication and presentation skills, Amanda Malloy, a second-year Southern Studies MA student, won the University of Mississippi’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. She will go on to the regional competition in Charlotte, North Carolina, in February as part of the Conference for Southern Graduate Schools.
Here, second year graduate student Mary Blessey shares an audio project and original photographs from the 2015 3rd Eye Music Festival in Jackson, MS.
Here, an end of the semester photo wrap-up with second year Southern Studies grad student Sophie Hay, who documents Center events and life as part of her assistantship. Follow the Center on Instagram for more photos by Sophie and others. Snapshots from the Semester Fall semester has been a busy one in Barnard Observatory; the …
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.
We’re starting an occasional series of interviews of visiting speakers at the Center by Southern Studies grad students who are working with Dr. Andy Harper and the Southern Documentary Project. These interviews will explore a scholar’s inspiration to pursue a particular line of research and their experiences teaching courses on the American South in different contexts.
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.
While a Master of Arts degree can be the pinnacle of schoolwork for some students, others continue their foray through academia. Here are a few of the Southern Studies alums who, having decided to pursue a PhD in various fields, are working on or have nearly completed their dissertations. The MA program is known for producing graduates with diverse interests, and these topics reflect that diversity.
As part of the spring 2015 documentary photography seminar taught by Dr. David Wharton, students photographed in Oxford and, for the sake of comparison, several smaller towns in North Mississippi.