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Behind the Big House: Reconciling Slavery, Race, and Heritage in the U.S. South
2022 Anthropology of Tourism Interest Group Nelson Graburn Prize, winner
When residents and tourists visit sites of slavery, whose stories are told? All too often the lives of slaveowners are centered, obscuring the lives of enslaved people. Behind the Big House gives readers a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to interpret the difficult history of slavery in the U.S. South. The book explores Jodi Skipper’s eight-year collaboration with the Behind the Big House program, a community-based model used at local historic sites to address slavery in the collective narrative of U.S. history and culture.
In laying out her experiences through an autoethnographic approach, Skipper seeks to help other activist scholars of color negotiate the nuances of place, the academic public sphere, and its ambiguous systems of reward, recognition, and evaluation.
When residents and tourists visit sites of slavery, whose stories are told? All too often the lives of slaveowners are centered, obscuring the lives of enslaved people. Behind the Big House gives readers a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to interpret the difficult history of slavery in the U.S. South. The book explores Jodi Skipper’s eight-year collaboration with the Behind the Big House program, a community-based model used at local historic sites to address slavery in the collective narrative of U.S. history and culture.
In laying out her experiences through an autoethnographic approach, Skipper seeks to help other activist scholars of color negotiate the nuances of place, the academic public sphere, and its ambiguous systems of reward, recognition, and evaluation.
246 pages, Paperback
Published March 22, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 26, 2022
First grad school read!
Skipper makes a distinction between history and heritage, describing history as “an always incomplete chronicling of facts” and heritage as “that from the past which groups consider important to remember and re-remember in the present.” So much insight on tourism in the South (specifically in Mississippi) and the narratives/heritages that are largely remembered, largely forgotten, and how the act of remembering affects the present. Highly recommend!
Skipper makes a distinction between history and heritage, describing history as “an always incomplete chronicling of facts” and heritage as “that from the past which groups consider important to remember and re-remember in the present.” So much insight on tourism in the South (specifically in Mississippi) and the narratives/heritages that are largely remembered, largely forgotten, and how the act of remembering affects the present. Highly recommend!
March 15, 2022
An interesting read. I was more interested in the personal stories than the academic side of the book. I’m interested in taking the behind the big house tours.
I don’t agree with all that the author asserts, but I think she has done an admirable job in advancing her theme, arguments, and skills toward her endeavor.
Thanks to Iowa University press and NetGalley for the early read.
I don’t agree with all that the author asserts, but I think she has done an admirable job in advancing her theme, arguments, and skills toward her endeavor.
Thanks to Iowa University press and NetGalley for the early read.
May 9, 2025
I read half of this, then went down to the Behind the Big House Day in Holly Springs, Mississippi realized I met half the people mentioned, came back and read the whole thing.
It's an extraordinary project and I really liked the way Skipper walked the reader through her background, her own academic path, and the development of the program, not to mention her relationship with the university where she is employed. She really strives for clarity and honesty, even when it can be uncomfortable reading.
If you are the business of historical tourism - which I am - this is an extremely important read, encouraging you to ask lots of questions about why thing are the way they are, who is telling the story and what is being left out.
There's lots I learned about the culture of enslaved people and without negating the importance of any of that, I think bringing to bear any of the ideas in Behind the Big House - wherever you work, whatever museums or historical sites you like to go to - and asking those hard to answer questions is a worthwhile endeavor.
It's an extraordinary project and I really liked the way Skipper walked the reader through her background, her own academic path, and the development of the program, not to mention her relationship with the university where she is employed. She really strives for clarity and honesty, even when it can be uncomfortable reading.
If you are the business of historical tourism - which I am - this is an extremely important read, encouraging you to ask lots of questions about why thing are the way they are, who is telling the story and what is being left out.
There's lots I learned about the culture of enslaved people and without negating the importance of any of that, I think bringing to bear any of the ideas in Behind the Big House - wherever you work, whatever museums or historical sites you like to go to - and asking those hard to answer questions is a worthwhile endeavor.
July 24, 2026
Jodi Skipper’s Behind the Big House: Reconciling Slavery, Race, and Heritage in the U.S. South is a groundbreaking, deeply courageous contribution to public history, heritage tourism, and cultural anthropology. Spanning 246 pages, Skipper draws on an eight-year autoethnographic collaboration with the award-winning "Behind the Big House" program, examining how historic plantation sites can move past sanitized narratives to accurately center the lives of the enslaved.
What makes this book extraordinary is its rare combination of on-the-ground public programming insight and critical self-reflection. Skipper offers an honest, behind-the-scenes look at the logistical, emotional, and political hurdles of interpreting difficult racial histories in the American South. Furthermore, she provides an invaluable roadmap for activist scholars of color navigating institutional academic spaces. It is an essential, transformative read for public historians, museum professionals, tourism scholars, and anyone committed to honest historical reckoning.
What makes this book extraordinary is its rare combination of on-the-ground public programming insight and critical self-reflection. Skipper offers an honest, behind-the-scenes look at the logistical, emotional, and political hurdles of interpreting difficult racial histories in the American South. Furthermore, she provides an invaluable roadmap for activist scholars of color navigating institutional academic spaces. It is an essential, transformative read for public historians, museum professionals, tourism scholars, and anyone committed to honest historical reckoning.
December 16, 2024
These type of books were my favorite to read for this class
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews