The Center for the Study of the American South (CSAS) is an academic organization dedicated to the study of "

southern history The history of the Southern United States spans back thousand of years to the first evidence of human occupation. The Paleo-Indians were the first peoples to inhabit the Americas and what would become the Southern United States. By the time Eu ...

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

as well as ongoing social, political, and economic issues" at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

History

The CSAS was the brainchild of a working group of faculty at UNC's Institute for Research in Social Science, a group that included IRSS director

John Shelton Reed John Shelton Reed (born 1942) is an American sociologist and essayist, author or editor of 23 books, most of them dealing with the contemporary American South. Reed has also written for a variety of non-academic publications such as ''The Wall Str ...

(William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor of Sociology at UNC), anthropologist James Peacock, and David Moltke-Hansen (curator of the Southern Historical Collection at UNC's Wilson Library). This group recognized the value of an umbrella organization that could help faculty and students studying the South to communicate, collaborate, and combine resources. They presented their idea to the UNC Board of Governors, which established the CSAS in 1992 with Reed as acting director, until he was succeeded by Moltke-Hansen. Malinda Maynor Lowery, professor of history at UNC, served as director from 2017 to 2021, before departing for Emory University. A search is underway for a new director.

Mission statement

The stated mission of the CSAS is

Primary activities

The primary focus of the CSAS is supporting inter-departmental research within UNC and disseminating the results. The Center funds and promotes many activities, including the publication of the quarterly journal ''Southern Cultures'' (), edited originally by Reed and Watson, now edited by Watson and Jocelyn Neal, associate professor in UNC's Department of Music.

Research

Over 60 UNC faculty members are associated with the CSAS, from disciplines including African American Studies,

American Studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. Schol ...

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

, Archeology,

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

, English Studies,

Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, Religious Studies, and

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

. Examples include Philip F. Gura (American Studies), who studies banjo music in the nineteenth century, and Jocelyn R. Neal (Music), who studies country music and dance.

John Herbert Roper John Herbert Roper Sr. (born August 9, 1948) is an American historian. The University of North Carolina has a collection of his papers. He was born in South Carolina. He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.A., received an M. ...

has also written several articles for the center. In addition, the CSAS hosts professors from outside universities, including Timothy McCarthy from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, and Norio Hirose from the School of Law at

Kwansei Gakuin University , colloquially known as , is a private, non-denominational Christian coeducational university in Japan. The university offers Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees to around 25,000 students in almost 40 different disciplines across 11 ...

in Nishinomiya, providing them with complete access to UNC's resources and professors to aid in collaborative research.

Public awareness

The CSAS also houses and supports the Program for Public Life, a group dedicated to raising public awareness of political issues in the South, and the Southern Oral History Program.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 35.9158, -79.0482, region:US-NC_type:edu, display=title Study of the American South Southern United States