SouthTalks: The Tacky South

The Tacky South

Katharine A. Burnett and Monica Carol Miller

As a way to comment on a person’s style or taste, the word “tacky” has distinctly southern origins. Its roots trace to the so-called “tackies” who tacked horses on South Carolina farms before the Civil War. Coeditors of The Tacky South, Katie Burnett and Monica Miller, will discuss tackiness and its various permutations, as well as the term’s connections to the US South. They will highlight the essays featured in their collection, which range from discussions of nineteenth-century local-color fiction and the television series Murder, She Wrote to red velvet cake and the ubiquitous influence of Dolly Parton.

Katharine A. Burnett is an associate professor of English at Fisk University in Nashville and the author of Cavaliers and Economists: Global Capitalism and the Development of Southern Literature, 1820–1860. Monica Carol Miller is an associate professor of English at Middle Georgia College in Macon, Georgia. She is the author of Being Ugly: Southern Women Writers and Social Rebellion.

SouthTalks is a series of events (including lectures, performances, film screenings, and panel discussions) that explores the interdisciplinary nature of Southern Studies. This series is free and open to the public, and typically takes place in the Tupelo Room of Barnard Observatory unless otherwise noted. Visit southernstudies.olemiss.edu for more information about all Center events.