English 159 - Reading Regions: South

In the United States, as in many countries, we divide ourselves into regions.  Differences in language and/or dialect, in history, in customs and politics, are often seen as legitimating regional divisions.  The South has always held an especially powerful place in the American imagination, even before the Civil War.  Through close encounters with texts and music, we will explore the differences within the South, the ways in which particular literary texts have come to be seen not just as representing the South but, in part, constituting its difference, and the complex roles played by race, ethnicity, and class.  Among the writers and musicians we will study:  Louis Armstrong, Ernest Gaines, Eudora Welty, Flannery O’Connor, Breece D.J. Pancake, William Faulkner, Hank Williams, and the Carter Family.

Limited to 35 students. Spring semester.  Professor Emeritus O'Connell.