SOST 301 SyllabusFall2015 .pdf

 
Introduction  to  Southern  Studies  1580-­‐1900  
 
SOST  301-­‐001    
 
 
 
 
 
Instructor:  Dr.  M.  Cooper  
Telephone:  7-­‐4498  
Email:  MLCooper@mailbox.sc.edu  
Fall  2015—August  20-­‐December  4  
Tuesdays  and  Thursdays,  11:40  am-­‐  12:55  pm  
Room:  Petigru  College  212  
Office  Hours:  Tuesdays  and  Thursdays  2:40  pm-­‐3:40  pm  (or  by  appointment),  120  
Gambrell  Hall  
 
Course  Description:    
 
This  course  explores  the  history  and  culture  of  the  American  South  from  the  
colonial  period  to  the  advent  of  the  Jim  Crow  racial  hierarchy.    Using  studies  that  
focus  on  the  American  South  produced  by  scholars  representing  a  variety  of  
academic  disciplines,  this  course  seeks  to  unpack  the  fundamental  phenomena  that  
shaped  the  region  and  facilitated  its  "uniqueness."    In  particular,  this  course  raises  
questions  about  the  intellectual,  cultural,  social,  political  and  economic  forces  that  
distinguished  the  region  from  other  parts  of  the  nation.    Paying  close  attention  to  
overlapping  and  interrelated  social  constructs,  this  course  looks  to  art,  religion,  
folklore,  literature  and  historical  narratives  and  events  in  order  to  uncover  the  origins  
of  "the  South"  that  dominates  the  American  imagination.    
 
Student  Learning  Outcomes:  
 
By  the  end  of  this  course:  
• Students  should  be  able  to  explain  how  different  cultural  groups  contributed  
to  the  development  of  the  South.  
• Students  should  be  able  to  describe  the  events  and  cultural,  economic,  
political,  and  social  trends  that  shaped  the  perception  of  the  South  as  a  
distinct  region.  
• Students  will  be  able  to  interpret  and  analyze  a  variety  of  primary  source  
materials.  
• Students  will  be  able  to  compose  "synthetic  essays"  that  analyze,  compare  
and  contrast  multiple  scholarly  interpretations  and  studies.    
 
Requirements:  
 
Discussion  Questions/Attendance  
The  completion  of  weekly  readings  is  mandatory.  You  are  expected  to  bring  required  
readings  to  class  meetings:  please  print  out,  and  bring  to  class,  readings  posted  on  
 

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Blackboard.  Each  student  is  required  to  compose  one  sophisticated  question  derived  
from  the  readings  for  each  class  meeting.  Your  question  should  be  linked  to  a  specific  
passage—please  quote  directly  from  the  text.    Your  (typed)  question  should  be  
submitted  at  the  start  of  each  class.  You  will  not  receive  credit  for  your  question  if  
you  are  absent  from  the  class  meeting.  All  students  are  also  required  to  pick  one  of  
the  course  readings  to  create  a  Special  Presentation  Question  that  will  be  presented  
at  the  start  of  the  class  session.    Your  questions,  and  contributions  to  class  
conversations  will  constitute  your  participation  grade.    
 
Students  are  expected  to  attend  each  scheduled  class  meeting,  to  be  on  time,  and  to  
be  prepared  for  each  class  session.  The  University  attendance  policy  specifies  that  
students  may  miss  up  to  3  class  meetings  (10%  of  class  time)  without  penalty.  The  4th  
absence  will  result  in  a  grade  penalty  of  one  letter  grade.  The  5th  absence  will  result  
in  a  deduction  of  2  letter  grades.  Class  absences  will  inevitably  affect  your  class  
participation  grade.    
 
Papers  
Students  must  complete  two  synthetic  essays  of  2-­‐5  pages,  one  at  mid-­‐term  and  one  
at  the  semester's  end.    Each  will  analyze  a  theme  that  emerges  from  two  or  more  of  
the  course  readings.  All  writings  are  to  be  double-­‐spaced,  in  12-­‐pt  font,  with  sources  
cites  in  the  Chicago  format.  Extensions  will  not  be  granted  except  for  health  and  
family  emergencies.  
 
 
Classroom  Expectations:  
Please  review  the  "Carolinian  Creed"  (http://www.sa.sc.edu/creed/).    Students  are  
expected  to  uphold  the  creed,  and  adhere  to  the  creed's  mandates  in  all  course  
activities  (papers,  etc.)  and  during  classroom  discussions.    As  outlined  in  the  creed,  
you  are  expected  to  "practice  personal  integrity;"  and  "respect  the  dignity  of  all  
persons."  Consequently,  bigotry  will  not  be  tolerated,  and  you  are  expected  to  strive  
to  "learn  from  differences  in  people,  ideas  and  opinions."  Violations  of  this  creed  will  
be  handled  according  to  the  policies  and  procedures  outlined  in  the  USC  Conduct  
Code.    Ultimately,  I  hope  to  create  a  sense  of  intellectual  safety  for  all  students  in  the  
course,  as  well  as  encourage  rigorous  intellectual  discourse.    
 
Please  set  your  cell  phones  to  the  "silent"  notification  mode  during  class  sessions.  Do  
not  use  your  cell  phone  to  send  "text  messages,"  etc.  during  class  meetings.    While  I  
understand  that  many  students  use  laptops  and  tablets  to  take  notes,  I  expect  that  
these  devices  will  be  used  for  those  purposes  only.  Please  do  not  audio  or  video  
record  class  meetings  or  lectures.    You  are  also  expected  to  refrain  from  distracting  
and  disruptive  behaviors  (i.e.  "chatting"  during  lectures/discussions,  consuming  a  full  
meal  in  class,  etc.).  

 

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Students  with  Special  Needs,  Academic  Integrity,  etc.  
 
Reasonable  accommodations  are  available  for  students  with  a  documented  disability.  
If  you  have  a  disability  and  may  need  accommodations  to  fully  participate  in  this  
class,  contact  the  Office  of  Student  Disability  Services:  777-­‐6142,  TDD  777-­‐6744,  email  
sasds@mailbox.sc.edu,  or  stop  by  LeConte  College  Room  112A.  All  accommodations  
must  be  approved  through  the  Office  of  Student  Disability  Services.  
 
 
 
University  Statement  on  Academic  Integrity:  
Assignments  and  examination  work  are  expected  to  be  the  sole  effort  of  the  student  
submitting  the  work.  Students  are  expected  to  follow  the  University  of  South  
Carolina  Honor  Code  and  should  expect  that  every  instance  of  a  suspected  violation  
will  be  reported.  Students  found  responsible  for  violations  of  the  Code  will  be  subject  
to  academic  penalties  under  the  Code  in  addition  to  whatever  disciplinary  sanctions  
are  applied.  Similarly,  violations  will  result  in  a  0  for  the  work,  possibly  a  grade  of  F  in  
the  course,  and,  in  accordance  with  University  policy,  be  referred  to  the  University  
Committee  for  Academic  Responsibility  and  may  result  in  expulsion  from  the  
University.            
 
*GRADING:  
Category  

Percentage  

Discussion  Questions  (each  meeting)  20%  &  

30%  

Special  Presentation  Question  10%  
Paper  #1  

30%  

Paper  #2  

40%  

 

 

 
Books  to  Purchase:  
All  Course  readings  will  be  available  on  Blackboard.  
 
Course  Introduction:  Conceptualizing  Southern  Studies  
 
Week  1,  August  20,  2015:      
Thursday:  Course  introduction  and  syllabus  review  
 
 
 
 

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Week  2,  August  25  &  27:    
Tuesday:  Catsam,  Derek.  "Introduction:  Southern  Identity:  Geography,  Culture  and  
History  in  the  Making  of  the  American  South."  Safundi:  The  Journal  of  South  African  
and  American  Studies,  Vol.  9,  No.  3  (July  2008)  233-­‐238.  
 
Encounters:  Native  Americans  and  European  Colonists  in  the  American  South  
Thursday:  
St.  Jean,  Wendy.  "Trading  Paths:  Mapping    Chickasaw  History  in  the  Eighteenth  
Century."  The  American  Indian  Quarterly,  Vol.  27,  No.  3/4  (2003)  758-­‐780.  
 
Week  3,  September  1  &  3  
Tuesday:  
Loftis,  Lynn.  "The  Catawbas'  Final  Battle:  A  Bittersweet  Victory."  American  Indian  Law  
Review,  Vol.  19,  No.  1  (1994)  183-­‐215.  *  first  10  pages  only  
 
Thursday:    
Greene,  Jack  P.  "Early  Modern  Southeastern  North  America  and  the  Broader  Atlantic  
and  American  Worlds."  Journal  of  Southern  History  (2007)  525-­‐538.  
 
Making  the  American  South:  Land,  Labor  and  Slavery  
 
Week  4,  September  8  &  10    
Tuesday:    
Lockley,  Timothy.  Maroon  Communities  in  South  Carolina:  A  Documentary  Record.  Pp  2-­‐
15.  
Thursday:    
Gomez,  Michael.  Exchanging  Our  Country  Marks:  The  Transformation  of  African  
Identities  in  the  Colonial  and  Antebellum  South  (University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  
1998)  *pp  59-­‐87  
 
Week  5,  September  15  &  17  
Tuesday:    
Edelson,  S.  Max.  “Clearing  Swamps,  Harvesting  Forests:  Trees  and  the  Making  of  a  
Plantation  Landscape  in  the  Colonial  South  Carolina  Lowcountry”  Agricultural  History  
(2007).  
 
"Place"  and  Gender  in  the  Colonial  South  
Thursday:  
Kierner,  Cynthia  A.  Beyond  the  Household:  Women's  Place  in  the  Early  South,  1700-­‐1835  
(Cornell  University  Press,  1998).    *pp  9-­‐35  
 
Week  6,  September  22        
Tuesday:  Lockley,  Timothy,  J.    "A  Struggle  for  Survival:  Non-­‐Elite  White  Women  in  
Lowcountry  Georgia,  1790-­‐1830"  in  Women  of  the  American  South:  A  Multicultural  
 

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Reader  ed.  Farnham  (New  York  University  Press,  1997).  *pp  26-­‐38.  
 
Thursday:  NO  CLASS  
 
Forging  Cultural  Identities  in  the  Colonial  South  
Week  7,  September  29  &  October  1    
Tuesday:  
Rozbicki,  Michal  J.  "The  Curse  of  Provincialism:  Negative  Perceptions  of  Colonial  
American  Plantation  Gentry."  Journal  of  Southern  History,  Vol.  63,  No.  4,  1997,  727-­‐
752.  
Thursday:  
Lockley,  Timothy.  Lines  in  the  Sand:  Race  and  Class  in  Lowcountry  Georgia,  1750-­‐1860.  
pp  1-­‐28.  
 
Week  8,  October  6  &  8  
Tuesday:  
Burrison,  John  A.  "Transported  Traditions:  Transatlantic  Foundations  of  Southern  
Folk  Culture"  Studies  in  Literary  Imagination,  2003,  1-­‐24.  
 
"The  South"  in  the  Age  of  Revolutions  
Thursday:  
Nash,  Gary  B.  Race  and  Revolution  (Madison  House,  1990)  *pp  3-­‐24    
 
Document  Set:  “The  Revolutionary  South  and  Its  Aftermath”  
 
Fashioning  Religious  Ideologies  in  the  American  "South"  
Week  9,  October  13  &  15  
Tuesday:  
Osthaus,  Carl.  "The  Work  Ethic  of  Plain  Folk:  Labor  and  Religion  in  the  Old  South"  
Journal  of  Southern  History,  Vol.  70  (  2004)  745-­‐782.  
 
Thursday:  
Sparks,  Randy  J.  "The  Southern  Way  of  Death:  The  Meaning  of  Death  in  White  
Evangelical  Culture"  Southern  Quarterly,  Vol.  44  (2006)  32-­‐52.  
 
The  Slavery  Question,  Sectionalism  and  Secession  
Week  10,  October  20    
Tuesday:    
Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher.  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  (1852).  *pp  1-­‐10,  31-­‐39  (PDF  numbering)  
Eastman,  Mary  H.  Aunt  Phillis's  Cabin  (1852).  *pp  19-­‐21,  30-­‐35  
Thursday:  
NO  CLASS  FALL  BREAK***  class  will  resume  November  3,  2015.  
 
 
 

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Week  11,  November  3  &5  
Tuesday:  
Jacobs,  Harriet.  Incidents  in  the  Life  of  a  Slave  Girl  (1861)  *pp  26-­‐35,  50-­‐55.  (PDF  
numbering)  
 
Douglass,  Frederick.  Narrative  of  the  Life  of  Frederick  Douglass  an  American  Slave  
(1845)*pp  19-­‐24,  69-­‐87.  (PDF  numbering)  
*Synthetic  Paper  #1  Due  
 
Thursday:  
Read  the  "Declaration  of  Secession"  documents  for  South  Carolina,  Mississippi,  
Georgia  and  Texas  http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/csapage.asp  
 
 
The  Civil  War:  Shaping  and  Un-­‐making  the  American  South  
 
Week  12,  November  10  &  12    
Tuesday:  
Fones-­‐Wolf,  Ken.  "  'Traders  in  Wheeling':  Secessionism  in  an  Appalachian  Unionist  
City"  Journal  of  Appalachian  Studies,  Vol.  13  (2007)  75-­‐95.  
 
Thursday:    
Faust,  Drew  Gilpin.  This  Republic  of  Suffering:  Death  and  the  American  Civil  War  
(Vintage,  2008)  136-­‐170,  211-­‐249.  
 
Week  13,  November  17  &  19    
Tuesday:  
Use  the  following  websites  to  find  and  read    (5)  letters  written  by,  or  sent  to  
Southern  soldiers  fighting  in  the  Civil  War—  
 
http://www.vmi.edu/archives.aspx?id=3945  
 
http://spec.lib.vt.edu/cwlove/  
 
http://www.freedmen.umd.edu/rice.htm  
 
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6519/  
 
Thursday:  
Ward,  J.  Matthew.  "  'Her  Own  Sense  of  Right':  Civil  War  Rhetoric  and  Southern  
Women"  Researcher:  An  Interdisciplinary  Journal,  Vol.  25  (2012)  1-­‐9.  
 
Primary  Source  Document  Set:  Black  Women  and  the  Civil  War  
 
 

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"Re-­‐constructing"  and  Defining  Freedom  in  the  Post-­‐War  South  
 
Week  14,  November  24  
Tuesday:  
Ochiai,  Akiko.  "The  Port  Royal  Experiment  Revisited:  Northern  Visions  of  
Reconstruction  and  Land  Question"  New  England  Quarterly,  Vol.  74  (2001)  94-­‐117.  
 
Thursday:  NO  CLASS,  THANKSGIVING  BREAK  
 
Redemption:  Restoration  of  the  South's  Racial  Hierarchy  
 
 
Week  15,  December  1  &  3  
Tuesday:  
Gilmore,  Glenda  E.  Gender  and  Jim  Crow:  Women  and  the  Politics  of  White  Supremacy  
in  North  Carolina,  1896-­‐20  (University  of  North  Carolina  Press,  1996).    *pp:  TBA  
 
Thursday:    
Woodward,  C.  Vann,  The  Strange  Career  of  Jim  Crow  (Oxford,  2002).  *pp  31-­‐109    
 
*Synthetic  Paper  #2  Due  
 

 

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