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

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.

Author: Charles Reagan Wilson
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Published: 09/01/2006
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.04lbs
Size: 9.28h x 6.20w x 0.77d
ISBN: 9780807856925

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 12/01/2006 pg. 170
Rec Ref Bks for Small/Med Libr 01/01/2007 pg. 23
American Reference Bks Annual 01/01/2007 pg. 33

About the Author
Wilson, Charles Reagan: - Charles Reagan Wilson is director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi and coeditor, with William Ferris, of the original Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.