Newswise — The Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi marks 30 years of work with a series of events Nov. 8-11.
Alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends are invited to come together to celebrate the center's achievements, reflect on its past, consider the present and plan for the future. All events are free and open to the public.
"We are encouraging people who've had various types of connections with the center to meet each other," said Ted Ownby, CSSC interim director and professor of history and Southern studies. "We have a lot of successful alumni now and we want current students to meet alumni who do interesting things."
Cynthia Tucker, editorial page editor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is slated to open the discussion Thursday, Nov. 8, at 4 p.m. in Overby Center Auditorium. She plans to talk about the development of the South over the last three decades.
Taking a look ahead is Julia Reed, Vogue magazine editor and author of "Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena" (Random House paperback, 2005). She speaks Friday, Nov. 9, at 4 p.m. in the Tupelo Room of Barnard Observatory.
Ownby said Tucker and Reed were chosen because they have no direct ties to the center.
"Cynthia Tucker's columns help set the agenda for thinking of Southern policy and politics, and she hasn't been here before," Ownby said. "Julia Reed is a Mississippian who writes with a sense of humor and warmth, despite her sarcasm, and I think a lot of people find that intriguing."The meeting will gather attendees for such social events as a Saturday "dinner on the grounds," followed by a Southern studies prom that evening and a Sunday morning golfing finale. Reservations are required for these events by calling 662-915-5993.
Ownby said Charles Reagan Wilson is to be honored during the weekend for his service as the center's director for eight years. Wilson chose to return to the classroom earlier this year, becoming professor and Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Chair in History and professor of Southern studies. CSSC continues to build on its history in helping to chart ways into the South's future. Events at the center began in November 1977 with a symposium on the work of Eudora Welty, with Welty herself in attendance. Along with its undergraduate and graduate programs, the center supports and houses diverse projects, including Living Blues magazine, the Southern Foodways Alliance, the Oxford Conference for the Book, documentary studies and the Future of the South initiative.
Much of the anniversary meeting is to focus on the alumni of the Southern studies academic program. The undergraduate program began just after the center was founded, and its master's program was approved in1986. Graduates of the program have gone on to earn doctorates in various fields. A panel presentation during the upcoming celebration features several alumni, who plan to discuss how their Southern studies education has helped them in their careers. Jon Peede, director of literature for grants at the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, D.C., completed his master's in Southern studies at UM in 1993. "The Southern Studies program provided a remarkable exposure to multiple disciplines while still insisting on a strong foundation in one or more graduate fields," Peede said. "I credit much of my professional career - as a book editor, college communications director and now NEA literature director - to the mentors I studied under in Southern studies."
Amanda Wallis of Pontotoc completed her bachelor's degree in Southern studies in December 2004. A third-year law student at UM, Wallis reflects on how her undergraduate experience helped prepare her for law school. "The program helped me to develop my writing and analytical skills, which provided me with a strong foundation to work from once I began law school," Wallis said. "This anniversary raises the question of whether or not 30 is middle-aged or if at 30 we need new ideas of what to do and where to go," Ownby said. "Thirty is pretty successful as far as centers go, and ours is continuing to look for new things to do. We hope to have our friends together to help us think of what we should do now."
For more information about the celebration or assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-5993. To learn more about the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/south.
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