Course Description
Performing Southern Culture, Traditions, Fictions is
designed to introduce students to the performative traditions of the
South, particularly the Southeastern United States, by examining writings
about Southern culture as well as fictional and nonfictional writings of
literary artists who hailed from the region.
In short, the course is a study of literary texts in historical
contexts. One dimension of
our study will be the negotiation of changes in the culture over time and
the ways in which those changes are reflected in literature from different
periods. The overarching
purpose of the course is to understand the characteristics that
distinguish the region from other regions of the country; it is not the
purpose of the course either to glorify or apologize for the region’s
history or traditions
