Shapers of Southern History : Autobiographical Reflections

Anne Scott

ISBN 10: 0820352527 / ISBN 13: 9780820352527

Published by University Of Georgia Press Apr 2017, 2017

About this Item

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Shapers of Southern History : Autobiographical Reflections
• Publisher: University Of Georgia Press Apr 2017
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0820352527
• ISBN 13: 9780820352527
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 229W x 152H x 0D millimeters 229 millimeters width by 152 millimeters height by 0 millimeters depth
• Weight: 666 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This volume gathers personal recollections by fifteen eminent historians of the American South. Coming from distinctive backgrounds, traveling diverse career paths, and practicing different kinds of history, the contributors exemplify the field's richness on many levels. As they reflect on why they joined the profession and chose their particular research specialties, these historians write eloquently of family and upbringing, teachers and mentors, defining events and serendipitous opportunities.

The struggle for civil rights was the defining experience for several contributors. Peter H. Wood remembers how black fans of the St. Louis Cardinals erupted in applause for the Dodgers' Jackie Robinson. "I realized for the first time," writes Wood, "that there must be something even bigger than hometown loyalties dividing Americans." Gender equality is another frequent concern in the essays. Anne Firor Scott tells of her advisor's ridicule when childbirth twice delayed Scott's dissertation: "With great effort I managed to write two chapters, but Professor Handlin was moved to inquire whether I planned to have a baby every chapter." Yet another prominent theme is the reconciliation of the professional and the personal, as when Bill C. Malone traces his scholarly interests back to "the memories of growing up poor on an East Texas cotton farm and finding escape and diversion in the sounds of hillbilly music."

Always candid and often witty, each essay is a road map through the intellectual terrain of southern history as practiced during the last half of the twentieth century.

About the Author

JOHN B. BOLES is William Pettus Hobby Professor of History at Rice University and managing editor of the Journal of Southern History. His books include The South through Time and Autobiographical Reflections on Southern Religious History (Georgia).