The Mind of the South (really)

Okay, I mean it this time! Please post your discussion questions below. You might consider posing your question in the context of our proposed essays.

Essay 2 Options

Option 1: Tim Tyson's Radio Free Dixie, in particular, reveals the symbiotic relationship between the politics of the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement. The use that civil rights activists made of the Cold War hinged upon the manner in which the Jim Crow-era South resembled a totalitarian state for African Americans. In your essay, make a broad survey of the various sources we have used in the course since the first essay and describe the manner in which the Jim Crow South represented a totalitarian society for all southerners.

Option 2: Our sources in this section pay a great deal of attention to black masculinity and femininity in the context of the segregated South. Using these sources, explore the contours and expressions of A) black masculinity B) black femininity or C) the interplay between black and white women in defining gender roles within the confines of segregation. Consider this question broadly, but feel free to focus on a specific aspect of the topic. For instance, you might narrow it down to exploring the role of violence directed at and employed by black men as a vehicle for demonstrating self worth in the segregated South. You might consider the role music, both the blues and gospel, in creating an environment of personal dignity and protest for black men and women. Be creative. But also be sure to email me with your idea - that is, how you plan to approach and define your essay question.

The directions and length requirements for this essay are the same as for Essay 1, and I ask that you consult that post in the blog archive for details.

NOTE: you will ONLY use these sources for your essay:

Pete Daniel, "Not Predestination"
"Feel Like Goin' Home" (Blues Documentary)
Cobb, "The Blues is a Low Down Shakin' Chill"
The Color Purple
Radio Free Dixie
Away Down South, Chapters 5 and 6

LASTLY: this assignment has a new due date: by 2:00 PM on Thursday, April 9. Submit either via Google Documents or in my mailbox in Bishop Hall.

The Mind of the South

We're beginning to consider the ways in which the mindset of white southerners come full circle in the middle of the twentieth century. W.J. Cash produced one of the most debated works of its genre in The Mind of the South. Luckily, you get to read Cobb's distillation of it.

Please post your discussion question below.

The Civil Rights Movement before 1954

The podcast lecture for today covers those elements of the civil rights movement that took place before the 1954 landmark decision Brown vs. Board of Education. Instead of a "beginning," in many ways, Brown represented the culmination of a long-term legalistic strategy that had its origins in the 1910s with the founding of the NAACP. We will consider the strategies and effectiveness of individuals like Lonnie E. Smith whose victory in Smith v. Allwright (1944) struck down the "white primary."

We will also look at the importance of the black middle and professional classes and neighborhoods like Atlanta's Sweet Auburn district in cultivating an atmosphere where civil rights activism might take place.

Chapter 5 in Away Down South examines the literary output and social activism of southern writers, both black and white, in the years leading up to 1954. Be sure to pay special attention to the rhetoric and methods these artists employed to speak out against the prevailing social norms of the South. To what degree were these writers brave? To what degree were they timid? Post your discussion question below.

The Color Purple

Tonight we will watch the film adaptation of Alice Walker's novel, The Color Purple. I often anguish over whether or not to use this film, not because it is not a great film or because it does not fit our themes so well, but that so many other people use it. As a consequence, you may find an enormous amount of information on the web that will help you analyze its content. For instance, this site even supplies plot summaries and thematic interpretations.

I encourage you, however, to actually watch the film instead of relying on internet summaries and the scholarship of others because it you will have to relate the content of the movie to our other readings for this course. Plus, because most of the internet summaries refer to the novel and not the film, there are some significant discrepancies - as there are with any film adaptation. I have received essays any number of times in the past that refer to sections of The Color Purple that are only in the book and not the film. Needless to say, the grades on such essays suffered.

Please post your discussion questions for the film at the foot of this post. Once again, I am open to you thinking about music and posting a link to something you would like to share with the class and talk about.

The Blues

Today we will look at the blues and its position in the South during a time of transformation. Be sure to post your discussion question below. If you want to discuss music, feel free to post a link to an audio file.

Southern Agriculture Since the Start of World War II

From Hopson's

The changes in agricultural technology that hit the South from the time of the Great Depression until the present altered more than the way the region harvested its crops. They also brought about a significant shift in labor and economics, and a correspondingly large number of social changes.

You should be prepared to discuss Pete Daniel's article on this transformation. Those of you who have signed up for discussion questions, please post them below.