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College of Liberal Arts
University of Mississippi

Center for The Study of Southern Culture

book conference

Organization Provides Support for Oxford Book Conference

JANUARY 26, 2024 In honor of its upcoming 30th year, the Oxford Conference for the Book has received a surprise gift from Hawthornden Foundation. Jimmy Thomas, director of the conference, which is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, welcomed the news. “We are both thrilled and […]


The university will celebrate 175 years of educating students and serving the state and nation at 1 p.m. Nov. 6 in front of the Lyceum. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

University to Celebrate 175th Anniversary

UM invites alumni, supporters to day of celebration on Nov. 6 OCTOBER 10, 2023 BY CLARA TURNAGE The University of Mississippi will observe 175 years of service to the state and nation with a celebration at 1 p.m. Nov. 6 in front of the historic Lyceum. When Mississippi’s flagship university opened its doors on Nov. […]


Kidada E. Williams

Historian Focuses on Lives of Black Americans During Reconstruction

Kidada Williams gives annual Gilder-Jordan Lecture SEPTEMBER 7, 2023 BY REBECCA LAUCK CLEARY Many Americans learn in school that Reconstruction failed, but few can accurately identify who failed to do what and why. In the annual Gilder-Jordan Lecture in Southern Cultural History, historian and author Kidada E. Williams answers those questions in “The Devil Was Turned Loose: […]


Delerme

University Launches Summer Research Program on Politics of Place

Interdisciplinary initiative to begin in May 2024 AUGUST 29, 2023 BY EDWIN B. SMITH The intersection of race and politics is the focus of a new summer research program coming soon to the University of Mississippi. The “Interdisciplinary Study of the Politics of Place” is an undergraduate research experience funded with a three-year grant from the National […]


Barnard Observatory

SouthTalks Focus on Creativity in the South

Lectures begin Sept. 6 with discussion of changing minds AUGUST 27, 2023 BY REBECCA LAUCK CLEARY Creativity in the South is the programming theme for the 2023-24 academic year at the University of Mississippi‘s Center for the Study of Southern Culture. The fall SouthTalks series begins by recognizing that the U.S. South is a region of profound […]


The Southern Foodways Alliance’s work with Lodge Cast Iron influenced the company to develop its new museum. A longtime supporter, Lodge Cast Iron has made a $150,000 gift to SFA to further its mission of documenting, studying and exploring the diverse food cultures of the changing American South.

Bolstering the Mission

Lodge Cast Iron Gift Supports SFA Work JULY 7, 2023 BY MARY STANTON KNIGHT/UM DEVELOPMENT Lodge Cast Iron, founded in 1877, is a fifth-generation family-owned cast iron cookware company based in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, that is strengthening the mission of the Southern Foodways Alliance (SFA) with an unrestricted gift of $150,000. Based at the University […]


Ted Ownby to Retire After 35 Years

Historian plans to write new book exploring Mississippians who did fascinating things JUNE 5, 2023 BY REBECCA LAUCK CLEARY After 35 years as a member of the University of Mississippi faculty, including 11 years as director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, history and Southern studies professor Ted Ownby is preparing to […]


Oxford Conference for the Book

For the Love of the South

Feders Recommit Support for Oxford Conference for the Book with $100K Gift JUNE 1, 2023 BY BILL DABNEY As native Mississippians, Ron Feder and his late wife, Becky, grew up steeped in the folkways of the American South. But it took an extended stay in the faraway Philippines to help them truly appreciate the extraordinary […]


The 2023 Summer Sunset Series, a sequence of free

Summer Sunset Series to Highlight Art, Music and Alumni

Annual free concert series to include Mississippi musicians, Southern studies alumni showcase MAY 28, 2023 BY CLARA TURNAGE Each Sunday in June, members of the Lafayette-Oxford-University family can gather on the Grove for a night of music and culture as the annual Summer Sunset Series returns to the University of Mississippi. The free concert series […]


Sandip Rai

Journey to Commencement—Making a Community

Sandip Rai’s creative journey brings stories to life on the screen. MAY 4, 2023 BY REBECCA LAUCK CLEARY When Sandip Rai made a list of possible graduate schools, his factors included location, program courses, community and eligibility. After a Zoom meeting with staff at the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture, […]