The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Volume 4: Myth, Manners, and Memory

New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture #4

by Charles Reagan Wilson (Editor)

This volume of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture addresses the cultural, social, and intellectual terrain of myth, manners, and historical memory in the American South. Evaluating how a distinct southern identity has been created, recreated, and performed through memories that blur the line between fact and fiction, this volume paints a broad, multihued picture of the region seen through the lenses of belief and cultural practice.

The 95 entries here represent a substantial revision and expansion of the material on historical memory and manners in the original edition. They address such matters as myths and memories surrounding the Old South and the Civil War; stereotypes and traditions related to the body, sexuality, gender, and family (such as debutante balls and beauty pageants); institutions and places associated with historical memory (such as cemeteries, monuments, and museums); and specific subjects and objects of myths, including the Confederate flag and Graceland. Together, they offer a compelling portrait of the "southern way of life" as it has been imagined, lived, and contested.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, American

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2006

Reviews

[Brandon Kriplean · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is the South? Whose is the South? This book is a great overview of the socio-cultural forces that have shaped Southern identity in the past and that inform Southern identify of the present. However, southern history is not static. As the South’s present changes, so does its past.