Kathleen Parker (briefly) on the term "Redneck"

On Wednesday, two of our three sections slipped into interesting discussions of the term "redneck." Serendipitously, today's column from Kathleen Parker delved into the use of this very word in the campaign. A little context: Parker lives in Camden, SC, and she is a conservative commentator for the Washington Post and the National Review.

A little more reflection

By and large, I have been pleased with your posters. However, I see one common problem: too much text. For Friday, I would like to revise the text on your poster as short, truncated bullet points. Distill your analysis to the most crucial key points. Type this into word document or just post them under the appropriate area in the forum on T-Square. Remember: you are working to use the fewest words possible and still get across a significant idea. Word choice is critical--use the best, most precise, most specific words.

Southern Seen & Larry McGehee

I wanted to share this with you: Larry T. McGehee, one of the two or three best teachers I've ever had, passed away on Saturday night.

More than a decade ago, Larry realized that the weekly and biweekly newspapers that the small towns (like his hometown in Kentucky) probably could not afford the increasingly-expensive subscription rates of nationally syndicated editorial columns. And so, he decided that he would provide such a column, every week, free of charge to anyone who was interested. And hundreds of tiny newspapers were. The result was "Southern Seen," a chronicle of life in the South. If you're interested, you can access the archives here.

Larry had greater, more subtle, and more profound understanding of southern culture than anyone I know. I think you might find something of interest here.....

How to make a poster via PowerPoint

Thanks to Hannah (section A), who spotted this handy guide!

Assignments for 10/27-10/31

For Monday: get those posters to me!

For Wednesday: read 1.8-1.9 in the EBook.

For Friday (Halloween): be prepared for group conferences.

Southern Music: The Jukebox & Your Readings

The first week of November will be devoted to Southern Music. I'd like you to go ahead and listen to the songs I've compiled and the readings I've posted. Check out T-Square: read the introduction to Malone's Southern Music/American Music and the Wells article, and spend some time with Miller's long Dirty South essay.

At the bottom of the blog, you'll find a jukebox loaded up with playlist that introduces 20th-21st Century Southern Music. How'd I select what's there? Difficult choices were made....and as Malone and others suggest, almost all of American music (and thus, much of global pop music) is rooted in the curious collision that occurred in the South--the musical conversation and exchange that included English & Scots-Irish ballads, Protestant hymns, and the polyrhythms of African music . The blues were born down here, and all of it--from country, jazz, bluegrass, rap, and rock of all stripes--are rooted in that tradition.

So, here's what I did: I selected the central movements in popular southern music in the 20th and 21st Centuries, and then I picked the handfull of artists most critical to or representative of these movements. The majority of them grew up in the South, toured the South, and recorded on southern labels.

Let me explain the organizational pattern: I've organized the songs in both a chronological and geographic pattern--one that I hope is neither reductive nor too complicated too follow. Artists are grouped in movements, and the central cities of those movements and the years they occured are listed.

Certainly, I've left out many significant artists and movements. For instance, how could I produce a southern music compilation without BB King? Or Ludacris? Or Little Feat! And I'm so light on folk music....Ugh--I disappoint me! To remedy this, please post links to relevant artists, genres, etc., in the comments section bellow.

Finally, I'd like you to think about the racial dichotomy that is reinforced by my organizational plan. Particularly after the '60s, the categories I've enumerated fall into either white or black music. Is this accurate? If so, what different directions did white and black folks take the blues over the course of the 20th Century? If not, what do I need to do to correct it?

Here we go:

1-3: Mississippi Delta Blues (1920s-'30s)

• Robert Johnson - "Crossroads" (1936)
  
• Leadbelly - "The Boll Weevil" (1934)
  
• Bessie Smith - "Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl" (ca. 1930s)
  

4-5: New Orleans (1940s-'50s) ~ jazz & gospel

• Jazz: Louis Armstrong - "Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?" (1947)
  
• Mahalia Jackson - "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jerico" (ca. 1950s)
  

6-8: Nashville/Country Music of the 1930s-1950s

• The Carter Family - "Will/Can the Circle Be Unbroken" (1935)
• Hank Williams - "Lost Highway" (1949)
• Bill Monroe - "Mule Skinner Blues"(1939)

9-17: Early Rock (1950s) ~ Mississippi Delta, Memphis, and elsewhere...

• Muddy Waters - "Mannish Boy" (1955)
• Bo Diddley - "Bo Diddley" (1955)
• Jackie Brentson with Ike Turner - "Rocket 88" (1951)
• Big Mama Thornton - "Hound Dog" (1952)
• Elvis Presley - "Hound Dog" (1956)
• Little Richard - "Long Tall Sally" (1956)
• Jerry Lee Lewis - "Wild One" (1958)
• Johnny Cash - "Cry! Cry! Cry!" (1955)
• Ray Charles - "Mess Around" (1953)

18-20: The Rhythm & Blues of the 1960s ~ Memphis, etc.

• Otis Redding - "Try a Little Tenderness" (1966)
• Booker T & the MGs - "Green Onions" (1962)
• Nina Simone - "Mississippi Goddamn" (1963)

21-23: Nashville in the late '60s & '70s ~ Countrypolitan & the Backlash

• Loretta Lynn - "Fist City" (1968)
• Dolly Parton - "Jolene" (1974)
• Waylon Jennings - "Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way?" (1975)

24-28: Funk in the '70s & Beyond ~ Memphis, New Orleans, etc.

• James Brown - "Super Bad"(1970)
• The Staples Singers - "Respect Yourself" (1971)
• Al Green - "Take Me to the River" (1974)
• The Meters - "Cissy Strut" (1969)
• The Dirty Dozen Brass Band - "Do Whatcha Want" (1991)

29-30: Southern Rock of the 1970s ~ Atlanta, etc.

• Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Free Bird" (1974)
• Allman Brothers Band - "Whipping Post" (live, 1971)

31-34: Dirty South Hip Hop (1990s-2000s) ~ Atlanta, Memphis, New Orleans, etc.

• Goodie Mob - "Dirty South" (1995)
• OutKast - "ATLiens" (1996)
• Lil Wayne - "Grown Man" (2005)
• David Banner - "Saints Row" (2008)

35-39: Roots Rock & Alt. Country (late '80s - 2000s) ~ Nashville, Athens, Austin, etc.

• R.E.M. - "Driver 8"(1985)
• Steve Earle - "Someday" (live, 1986)
• Lucinda Williams - "Pineola" (1992)
• Drive-By Truckers - "The Southern Thing" (live, 2001)
• Drive-By Truckers - "Let There Be Rock" (live, 2001)

40. THE BIG FINALE

• Elvis Presley - "American Trilogy" (live)
  

Topic for blog post for this week

I'd like you to explore the digitized holdings of the Georgia Tech Archives; find something that interests you and consider how that document, text, or artifact touches on our discussions of regional identity.

For those of you (particularly those in Section A) who didn't see anything of use, see my post from Friday.

Some things to look at from the Archives

Just playing around, I found some really interesting documents that the Ga Tech Archives have made available online.

From the SmartTech: the College of Architecture's repository of undergraduate projects.

• A Restaurant from the mid-1930s
• Perspective on Tech (1934)
• Cinema Lobby (1938)
• Suburban House (1938)
• "A Super Food Market" (1939)
  

Also from SmartTech, the archived broadcasts of WREK's Tech Talk.

Also, I recommend Tech's Living History site.

You should also explore the Archives's Digital Collections.

The NY Times on Race, the South, and the 2008 Election

The New York Times is currently running a series on how race is affecting the 2008 Presidential election. Yesterday, their reporters headed South and interviewed a few locals....many of whom they found at the local Wal-Mart.

Take a look: do you think this article accurate represents the electorate in this region? How voters in the rural South?

Blog for Oct. 19

This week, you have two options:

Option A
Throughout the semester, I've regularly posted links to relevant articles, news items, interviews, and websites that we just haven't had time to discuss. Collectively, these items are labeled Tangetial Stuff. For this post, I'd like you to take a look at these and then respond to something you read. You may also take a look at the sites I've posted under "Other Links" (scroll down near the map to find them).

Option B
Check out the maps for any section of this course, and find a pinpoint (posted by someone else) NEAR a pinpoint that you have posted. Read that person's entry, then respond to what they've written. Consider the differences and similarities between your experience in that place and the experience/observation of your colleague.

Another really cool thing....

I saw this on the news last night....the Christian Science Monitor's Patchwork Nation Project. In an attempt to expand upon the red state/blue state spectrum, the CSM has divided the nation, by county, into 11 demographic categories--and they've got bloggers representing each of the 11 categories.

Check it out and find your home.

Extra Dreamweaver session available

Ms. Brown has invited all of you who are interested to a Dreamweaver tutorial (open to all students) on for Wed 10/15 and Thurs 10/16 from 5-7 pm in the Homer Rice Center in the library. She'll teach for 1.5 hrs, then give folks time to work on their projects and ask questions. No registration is necessary.

Have a great Fall Break

And read section 4.1 in the Ebook!

FRIDAY: MEET IN THE LIBRARY

Don't forget: we'll meet in the library for an introductory Dreamweaver session.

Postmodernity....

Amy Elias's titled her article "Postmodern Southern Vacation," which begs the question: what do "postmodern" and "postmodernity" mean?

Postmodernism is a notoriously slippery concept. If we turn to ye olde Wikipedia, we find that:

"These terms are used by philosophers, social scientists, and social critics to refer to aspects of contemporary culture, economics and society that are the result of the unique features of late 20th century and early 21st century life. These features include the fragmentation of authority, and the commoditization of knowledge (see "Modernity"). Postmodernity is a condition, or a state of being, or is concerned with changes to institutions and conditions (as in Giddens, 1990) - whereas postmodernism is an aesthetic, literary, political or social philosophy. In other words, postmodernism is the 'cultural and intellectual phenomenon,' especially since the 1920s' new movements in the arts, while postmodernity focuses on social and political outworkings and innovations globally, especially since the 1960s in the West."

Postmodern art is often characterized by a sense of play and an awareness that narratives, images, and signs (which belong to the category of signifiers) have become detached from their original referent (the signified). For example, I've included an image of the late Nashville legend, Porter Wagoner, who was as famous for his garish suits as he was for his duets with Dolly Parton.

In the next image, you'll see a more contemporary face--Meg & Jack White, a.k.a. The White Stripes...the greatest rock and roll two-piece out there. Now, think about the different ways in which Wagoner and White wear these similar outfits (Wagoner is wearing a Nudie suit, which is named for its tailor, Nudie Cohn). What is signified by each outfit?

For a more thorough explanation of postmodernism & postmodernity, I refer you to the Po-Mo Page.

Awesome thing that I found online and by which I am confused and convexed

When you have an opportunity, take a look at this: Prof. David Kolb's Sprawling Places web text. It is, in some ways, very similar in form to the web text you'll work on together. Prof. Kolb is a philosopher of no little renown, and the text is an outgrowth of years of scholarly research and writing. And so, his site is far richer than what you might turn out in a semester.

Try to make sense of its unique and challenging organization (click on "Conceptual Diagrams" to see what I mean). If Prof. Kolb had an entry on Metro Atlanta or a particular community in our area, what might he discuss? What are the keywords or key terms that he might use?

Definitely worth thinking about (on your own, of course)....

Blogs, generally, and Blog Assignment for Oct. 10, specifically

You good people have spoken, and I will continue to offer regular topics for your postings. The focus will shift a bit: from now on, I want you to think about writing about places and for the map. Your postings ought to help us flesh out our understanding of the region.

Another slight change: if you have something of interest to contribute beyond the assigned topic, do so. Your contribution will be reflected in your participation grade. I will also offer credit to those of you who respond to the work of your colleagues, either by commenting on their blog OR (preferably) by writing about and linking to their work.

Few of you addressed the question of assessment: would you prefer a holistic, overall assessment at the semester's end, or would you rather that I grade each post individually? Post below.

This week's topic: in the essay "Living Southern in Southern Living," Diane Roberts writes about the magazine as part of a "performance" of southernness (93). This week, I would like you to write about an IMAGE that is part of a similar performance of a cultural or subcultural identity. The parameters:

1. this must be an image that you have recently encountered and that you can locate on our course map.
   
2. while the image does not have to offer a claim about the South or southern identity, specifically, but it should be part of a performance of a group that can be located in the metro Atlanta area. This group doesn't have to be exclusive to our area.
3. If you can, include the image in your blog.
   

Your entry should introduce the image, identify where you found it, identify the claim and the audience, explicate its message, and address the elements of design. Again, my expectations are increasing as the semester progresses. The entry should be concise, well-organized, specific, proofread, and about 200-300 words.

A Scientific Explanation for Conspiracy Theories

Interesting piece on NPR's "All Things Considered Today": the journal Science recently published a study by a behavioral economist at UT-Austin's McCombs School of Business. Her recent work examines how, why, and when people see patterns when none exist. She asserts that, when we feel least in control of our circumstances, we find patterns that might explain why things are happening to us; that is to say, when we have no idea what's going on or what to do, we tend to attribute control of our situation to some other force. We imagine a connivining coworker has sabotaged our promotion, a global conspiracy has oppressed us, or even our failure to follow a certain pregame ritual has lead to us failing on the field.

Take a listen, and think about our friend Walt in Confederates in the Attic.

For Monday & Wednesday

Monday: Read Ch 14 in EA and Diane Roberts' essay "Living Southern in Southern Living" (posted as a .pdf under "Resources" on T-Square).

Wednesday: Read 4.2 in the E Book & Amy Elias' essay "Postmodern Southern Vacation" (also on T-Square).

New Links for the Final Project

Down below the blog links, you'll find a set of links, all of which will be useful for your final project. I'll update them as I think of new things to add.

The Future of Our Course Blog

Hello everyone....

I've been reading and thinking today, and I'm not particularly pleased with the way I've been using your blogs and our course maps. We've veered to far from my original idea....which was:

a) for you, individually, to write about the South as you experience it.
b) for you, collectively, to create a deep map, which would place your experiences alongside one another.

So, we're going to take a break this week and regroup. I'd like you each to offer suggestions about how we might change course on this project (Post them as replies below).

I'd also like you to take a look at this blog, TheWhereProject. Its owner is Tim Lindgren, an instructor and PhD student at Boston College, and he hopes that the blog will "deepen my sense of place." I know that may sound touchy-feely, but that's what I want this do: to provide each of you with a chance to think critically and analytically about the PLACE and the CULTURE in which you know live. Ideally, I'd like you to connect your experiences in this place to our readings, but it's not absolutely necessary.

Among the options I'm considering: I might end the regular pattern of issuing a prompt, expecting you to respond by Friday, and then assigning the 0-2 score. Instead, you would be free to write about your experiences and interests as you see fit. At the term's end, I would assess as a total portfolio of multimodal composition and communication. Of course, if I did this, I would provide a rubric explaining my expectations and criteria. The benefit to you: you could work on your own pace and write about what interests you. The downside: you'd be on your own.

Anyway, these are up for discussion. Let me know what you think.