HIHU 6346-501

NEW DIRECTIONS IN SOUTHERN STUDIES

Spring 2010, Mon 7-9:45 P.M.

Dr. Natalie Ring

Phone: 972-883-2365
Email: nring@utdallas.edu
Office: JO 5.424
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 2-3:30 pm or by appointment

Course Description
The aim of this graduate course is to think about the ways in which scholarship on the U.S. South
has begun to push the conventional boundaries of the discipline. The field of southern studies has
been evolving rapidly in the past two decades and older conceptual paradigms are now being
questioned and/or replaced by new ones. In this class students will consider how the use of race,
gender, sexuality, regionalism, and culture as categories of historical analysis have shifted the field
of southern history and pushed scholars to reevaluate more traditional ways of thinking about the
South.

Required Texts
The following books can be purchased at Off Campus Books located at 581 W. Campbell Dr.,
Richardson, TX. 75063.

*James Cobb, Away Down South: A History of Southern Identity

*Joseph Crespino, In Search of Another Country: Mississippi and the Conservative
Counterrevolution
*Pete Daniel, Lost Revolutions: The South in the 1950s
*Leigh Anne Duck, The Nation’s Region: Southern Modernism, Segregation, and U.S.
Nationalism
*Crystal Feimster, Southern Horrors: Women and the Politics of Rape and Lynching
*John Howard, Men Like That: A Southern Queer History
*Tara MacPherson, Reconstructing Dixie: Race, Gender, and Nostalgia in the Imagined South
*Timothy Tyson, Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power
*Harry L. Watson and Larry J. Griffin, Southern Cultures: The Fifteenth Anniversary Reader

Articles
*Collection of articles for the 75th anniversary of Journal of Southern History, volume 75 (August
2009) p. 531-766. These can be accessed on JSTOR through the McDermott Library website.

Course Objectives
1. To explain what scholars mean when they use the term “southern studies.”
2. To compile and assess analytically a body of literature in the field of southern history.
3. To identify and evaluate the main argument of a scholarly piece of literature.
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Academic Calendar

Week 1 (Aug. 23) Introduction

Week 2 (Aug. 30) Lecture: Themes in Southern History

Week 3 (Sept. 6) HOLIDAY – NO CLASS

Week 4 (Sept. 13) Cobb, Away Down South

Week 5 (Sept. 20) Scheduled appointments with professor during class time to discuss
annotated bibliography projects

Week 6 (Sept. 27) Watson and Griffin, Southern Cultures: The Fifteenth Anniversary
Reader

Week 7 (Oct. 4) Collection of articles for 75th anniversary of Journal of Southern

History v. 75(August 2009) p. 531-766. Access through JSTOR.

Week 8 (Oct. 11) Duck, The Nation’s Region

Bibliography proposal is due.

Week 9 (Oct. 18) MacPherson, Race, Gender, and Nostalgia in the American South

Week 10 (Oct. 25) Feimster, Southern Horrors

Week 11 (Nov. 1) No class. Use time to work on bibliography research.

Week 12 (Nov. 8) Howard, Men Like That

Week 13 (Nov. 15) Daniel, Lost Revolutions: The South in the 1950s

Week 14 (Nov. 22) Crespino, In Search of Another Country

Week 15 (Nov. 29) Tyson, Radio Free Dixie

Week 16 (Dec. 6) Conclusion

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY IS DUE DECEMBER 10 BY 5 P.M. IN MY OFFICE.

Assignments and Requirements

Course participation/attendance: The success of this seminar depends on your regular attendance
and active participation. Students are expected to attend all class meetings prepared to engage in
discussion of assigned readings. The only legitimate excuses for failing to attend class are illness
and personal/family emergencies. We are here to exchange ideas and learn from each other, thus
lack of attendance, tardiness, or no participation at all has a negative effect on the entire class. Your
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attendance grade will be based on your punctuality, your attendance in class, your contributions to
weekly discussions, and your ability to listen to the contributions of your colleagues.

Seminar Facilitation: During the course of the semester you will facilitate the discussion for one
session. You may have to do this in conjunction with someone else. The presentation should be
roughly 15 minutes. If you are sharing the duties, each person has 10 minutes. You are advised to
give a brief introduction to the material, which may include outlining broad debates of which the
book is a part or discussing the primary concerns/issues the book raises. Do not simply summarize
the book, chapter by chapter. There is no need to report on what book reviewers have said about the
book (these are concerns you might incorporate into the questions). No more than one minute, if at
all, should be devoted to a history of the author’s career. You will be giving us your understanding
of the book’s structure and content. The key is to provide an overview to the book itself. You will
lead the class so consider this an experience in teaching. Please distribute a list of the discussion
questions (at least 13-15) to the class by email attachment no later than 8 pm the night before class
(Sunday). You will be graded on your ability to break down the book’s synthesis, provide the class
with an analytical framework, and guide the discussion.

Bibliography Proposal and Final Product: You will submit a 15-20 page annotated bibliography on
a particular subtopic in southern history/southern studies (your subtopic could be thematic, a time
period, or a specific research project). The bibliography should be single spaced. An annotated
bibliography is a list of citations of books and articles (secondary sources) in which each entry is
followed by a 200-250 word descriptive paragraph. The descriptive paragraph (or annotation)
should be evaluative. The annotation should inform the reader of the author’s point of view and
summarize the broader arguments. An annotation is not merely a summary of the book or
document in question. This task entails analytical thinking, thorough library research, and the
ability to write a concise exposition of the source in question. The bibliography should have a clear
title outlining the topic. A bibliography of disparate sources with no apparent connection will not
warrant a high grade. On September 20 you will have an appointment with me during class time to
discuss your bibliography proposal. You will turn in a proposal on October 4 that should include a
one page summary of your subtopic and a preliminary list of the sources for the bibliography. The
proposal should be double spaced and the bibliography should be single spaced. You will be graded
on the summary of your proposal and in particular the coherence of the preliminary list of books
you will annotate for the final product. The bibliography may be interdisciplinary in nature if the
topic warrants it but at least 75% of the books must be squarely in the discipline of history.

If you are unfamiliar with basic research skills such as using JSTOR, worldcat, and interlibrary loan
(which are needed to complete this assignment) you should make an appointment with Linda Snow,
reference librarian liaison for the School of Arts & Humanities. snow@utdallas.edu

The following websites on annotated bibliographies are useful.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/
http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm

The annotated bibliography is due Dec. 10 by 5 pm in my office. You will be required to turn in
your final annotated bibliography to www.turnitin.com. The website offers instruction on how to
create your own account. The class I.D. is 3411729. The password is southern.
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Grading Policy
Course breakdown:
Course participation/attendance 15%
Seminar facilitation 15%
Bibliography proposal 20%
Final Paper 50%

Incompletes and extensions: The general rule is do not ask for an extension unless you have
suffered from serious illness (i.e. hospitalization) or acute personal crises, such as the death of a
relative. Please inform the professor as soon as you are aware of a problem. Late work will be
heavily penalized (1/3 letter grade per day, weekends included). For university rules about
incompletes please see below.

Course Policies
Classroom Protocol: First, please ensure that your cell phones are turned OFF during the class.
Second, please make an effort to arrive to class on time and avoid leaving early. Late arrivals and
early departures are distracting to both the professor and the students in the room. Frequently
information regarding course assignments and other matters is given at the start of class and
tardiness will lead you to miss important announcements as well as affect your grade.

For additional information on university policies regarding coursework, email use, academic
integrity etc. please consult http://go.utdallas.edu/syllabus-policies

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the Professor.