ENG 470, Reading and Writing the South
Fall 2009, MWF 12:20-1:10, HSS 69
Dr. Gold, 314 McClung, MW 11-12 and by appt.
“The South’s hard to understand. No one understands it, not even the Southerners.” —Mary Heaton Vorse
What journalist and novelist Mary Heaton Vorse wrote in 1930 still resonates today. We think of the South as rural, yet it is becoming increasingly industrialized and urbanized. Southern identity has often been constructed as white identity, yet the South has the largest black population of any region in the country. The image of the Southern Belle still influences gender roles, yet the South has a history of strong activist women. Popular images of Southern culture are often narrow and negative, yet many of these have been popularized and celebrated by Southerners. The South is often portrayed as homogenous, yet it contains numerous distinct regional cultures.
In an attempt to make sense of this hard-to-understand region, this class will take a historical look at the rhetoric of Southern identity. In particular, we will examine Southern exceptionalism (Is the South really different from other regions?); constructions of race and gender (What does it mean to be male or female, black or white, in the South?); and the functions of public memory (How does how we read and write the past affect how we read the present?). Students will make use of personal experience, critical analysis of texts, and original historical research to answer questions raised by our readings and class discussions.
TEXTS (*=required by first class day, regardless of availability at campus bookstore)
*Harry L. Watson and Larry J. Griffin, Southern Cultures: Fifteenth Anniversary Reader (ISBN 0807858803)
*James C. Cobb, Redefining Southern Culture: Mind and Identity in the Modern South (ISBN 0820321397)
*Rick Bragg, Ava’s Man (ISBN 0375724443)
Course packet of readings, available through course website
Gone with the Wind (required screening on Sat. 9/12, 1-4:30 pm)
Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (in-class screening)
GRADING AND ASSIGNMENTS
Reaction papers (30%): For each day’s reading, you will write a 200-250-word reaction paper, due at the beginning of class, and be prepared to read it aloud. Your reaction paper should take the form of a mini-argument (not a summary) about the text; make it dense, specific, and concise, focusing on one or two elements of the text that strike you and offering both claim and textual support.
Final research paper (50%): You will write one major research paper (8-12 pages, 8-10 sources), due the last week of class. This will not be a simple historical report; rather, you will advance an original argument in an attempt to answer a question or solve a problem raised by the readings, class discussions, or your own further inquiry. As with advanced literary analysis, you will conduct research to provide context and support for your argument. I have included guidelines at the end of the syllabus.
Attendance (10%) and participation (10%): To achieve full credit, you must satisfactorily complete all reading and writing assignments, actively participate in class, and not miss or be late to any more than two class sessions. Each missed assignment or tardy/absence for any reason beyond the allotted amount will bring that portion of your grade down one full letter.
COURSE POLICIES
You are expected to come to every class on time, having completed all assigned readings and homework, and to actively, enthusiastically, and respectfully participate in all class activities. This course requires extensive reading, writing, and speaking, with overlapping assignments and daily written homework; please keep well in advance of the syllabus so that there are no surprises.
Other requirements: All homework and take-home assignments must be typed, carefully proofread, and properly formatted (12 pt. Times New Roman; 1″ margins; double spaced; stapled; MLA or CMS format). Please make sure that all your work is your own; appropriating others’ work, cutting and pasting from the web, failing to properly acknowledge sources, recycling work from a previous class, or other forms of plagiarism or academic dishonesty are grounds for failure and further disciplinary action. Late work is not accepted; if work is due and you will not be present, send it with a peer or email it before the start of class. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to contact your peers to find out what you missed. Turn off all electronic devices and put away all food before coming to class.
Contacting me: The best way to contact me is through email. Please make sure that you put the course number (ENG 470) somewhere in the subject line and that you send from your UTK account. If you need to send a file, I accept attachments in DOC, PDF, and RTF format. If you would like to meet with me but cannot make my office hours, I am happy to arrange a mutually convenient time.
SCHEDULE (subject to modification)
RE=Redefining Southern Culture; SC=Southern Cultures Reader. Other texts are online. *=Optional reading.
I. WHAT IS THE SOUTH?
Week 1
W 8/19: Larry Griffin, “Southern Distinctiveness, Yet Again” (SC)
F 8/21: Edward Ayers, “What We Talk about When We Talk about the South” | Rebecca Watts, “Looking toward a New Rhetoric of Southern Identity”
Week 2
M 8/24: Larry Griffin, “The American South and Self” | Griffin, et al., “Southerners All?”
W 8/26: James Cobb, “Community and Identity in the Contemporary South” (RE) | “Race” poll
F 8/28: Timothy Tyson, “MLK and the Southern Dream of Freedom” (SC) | Anthony Walton, “Chicago as…Mississippi” (SC)
*David Goldfield, “A Sense of Place: Jews, Blacks, and White Gentiles in the American South” (SC)
Week 3
M 8/31: John Shelton Reed, “Quality of Life in the South” | John Shelton Reed, “Southern Violence”
W 9/2: Hodding Carter, “The End of the South” | John Shelton Reed, “Burden of Southern History” | “Disappearing” poll
F 9/4: Thomas Tweed, “Our Lady of Guadalupe Visits the Confederate Memorial” (SC) | “Truly American” poll
*Southern voting patterns (Crespino; Cobb; Nossiter)
II. SOUTHERN IDENTITY AND THE OLD SOUTH
Week 4
M 9/7: Labor Day—no class
W 9/9: Edward Ayers, “Worrying about the Civil War”
F 9/11: David Blight, “Black Memory and the Progress of the Race”
*Charles Joyner, “‘In His Hands’: The World of the Plantation Slaves”
***Saturday 9/12, 1-4:30 pm: Screening of GWTW, attendance required***
Week 5
M 9/14: David Rylance, “Receptions to Birth of a Nation”; excerpts from BOAN
W 9/16: Gone with the Wind
F 9/18: Gone with the Wind
* Mart Stewart, “Teaching Gone with the Wind in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” (SC)
Week 6
M 9/21: W. Fitzhugh Brundage, “White Women and the Politics of Historical Memory”
W 9/23: Amy Thompson McCandless, “A Lady, a Scholar, and a Citizen”
F 9/25: Early 20th C. college women’s writing
III. SOUTHERN IDENTITY AND THE NEW SOUTH
Week 7
M 9/28: James Cobb, “Southern Renaissance and Southern Identity” (RE)
W 9/30: Cobb, “Does Mind Still Matter?” (RE, 44-56, 66-77)
F 10/2: Cobb, “Modernization and the Mind of the South” (RE)
Week 8
M 10/5: H. L. Mencken, “The Sahara of the Bozart”
W 10/7: Nashville Agrarians, “Statement of Principles” (from I’ll Take My Stand)
F 10/9: W. J. Cash, “Mind of the South”
Week 9
M 10/12: Patrick Huber, “A Short History of Redneck…Southern White Masculine Identity” (SC)
W 10/14: Elizabeth Boyd, “Sister Act: Sorority Rush as Feminine Performance” (SC)
F 10/16: Fall Break—no class | Begin reading Ava’s Man
Week 10
M 10/19: C. Vann Woodward, “Search for Southern Identity” | David Potter, “Enigma of the South”
W 10/21: Rick Bragg, Ava’s Man
F 10/23: Rick Bragg, Ava’s Man
Week 11
M 10/26: Rebecca Watts, “Stories of the War: The Confederate Flag in South Carolina”
W 10/28: Watts, “Old South Tradition and New South Change in the Confederate Capital” (49-73)
F 10/30: Topic proposals for research paper due
IV. SOUTHERN IDENTITY AND POPULAR CULTURE
Week 12
M 11/2: C. Brendan Martin, “Tourism and Historical Memory in the Southern Highlands” | Laura Thornborough, “Americans the Twentieth Century Forgot”
W 11/4: Sample TV shows (Beverly Hillbillies, Hee Haw) | Anthony Harkins, “The Hillbilly in the Living Room: Television Representations, 1952-1971″
F 11/6: Ted Blake, “Television’s Simple South” (student essay) | HW: grade essay
*Hollis Henry, “Song of a Never-Was South: Will Disney Re-release a Twisted Film?”
Week 13
M 11/9: Sample songs | James Cobb, “Country Music and the ‘Southernization’ of America” (RE) | Steve Tuttle, “Murder on Music Row”
W 11/11: Charles Joyner, “The Sounds of Southern Culture” | James Cobb, “The Blues Is a Lowdown Shakin’ Chill” (RE)
F 11/13: Kevin Yuill, “A Critical View of the Origins of Country” (pt. 1) | Larry Griffin, “Give Me That Old-Time Music … or Not”
*James Cobb, “Country Music Ain’t What It Used to Be … And It Really Never Was” (SC)
Week 14
M 11/16: Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (screening)
W 11/18: Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (screening, discussion)
F 11/20: Project workshops | Rough draft due
Week 15
M 11/23: Project workshops (bring rough draft)
W 11/25: Project workshops (bring rough draft)
F 11/27: Thanksgiving—no class
Week 16
M 11/30: Class wrap up | Research papers due