Encyclopedia of Southern culture

cover image

Where to find it

Davis Library — Reference (1st floor)

Call Number
F209 .E53 1989
Status
In-Library Use Only

Library Service Center — Request from Storage

Call Number
F209 .E53 1989 c. 7
Status
Available

Music Library — Reference

Call Number
F209 .E53 1989 c. 8
Status
Available

North Carolina Collection (Wilson Library) — Reading Room

Call Number
CR917 E56w
Status
In-Library Use Only
Item Note
Dustjacket.

Park Library (School of Media & Journalism)

Call Number
F209 .E53 1989
Status
Available

School of Government Library

Call Number
F209 .E53 1989 c. 4
Status
Available
Call Number
F209 .E53 1989 c. 5
Status
In-Library Use Only

Southern Folklife Collection (Wilson Library)

Call Number
F209 .E53 1989 c. 5
Status
In-Library Use Only

Undergrad Library

Call Number
F209 .E53 1989 c. 3
Status
Available

Summary

The American South is a geographical entity, a historical fact, a place in the imagination, and the homeland of an array of Americans who consider themselves southerners. The region is often shrouded in romance and myth, but its realities are as intriguing, as intricate, as its legends.



The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture is "the first attempt ever" notes U.S. News & World Report , "to describe every aspect of a region's life and thought, the impact of its history and policies, its music and literature, its manners and myths, even the iced tea that washes down its catfish and cornbread."



There are many Souths, many southerners. The region's fundamental uniqueness, in fact, lies in its peculiar combination of cultural traits, a somewhat curious, often elusive blend created by blacks and whites who have lived together for more than 300 years. In telling their stories, the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture ranges from grand historical themes to the whimsical; from the arts and high culture (William Faulkner and Leontyne Price) to folk culture (quilts, banjos, and grits) to popular culture (Gilley's and Gone With the Wind ).



The Encyclopedia 's definition of the South is a cultural one: the South is found wherever southern culture is found. Although the focus is on the eleven states of the former Confederacy, this volume also encompasses southern outposts in midwestern and middle-Atlantic border states, even the southern pockets of Chicago, Detroit, and Bakersfield.



To foster a deeper understanding of the South's cultural patterns, the editors have organized this reference book around twenty-four thematic sections, including history, religion, folklore, language, art and architecture, recreation, politics, the mythic South, urbanization, literature, music, violence, law, and media. The life experiences of southerners are discussed in sections on black life, ethnic life, and women's life. Throughout, the broad goal is to identify the forces that have supported either the reality or the illusion of the southern way of life -- people, places, ideas, institutions, events, symbols, rituals, and values.



The Encyclopedia of Southern Culture was developed by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. Contributors to the volume include historians, literary critics, sociologists, anthropologists, geographers, linguists, theologians, folklorists, architects, ecologists, lawyers, university presidents, newspaper reporters, magazine writers, and novelists.

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