My South After this Class

From this class, I've learned to appreciate the different aspects of Southern culture. From north Georgia to Virginia, there are different Southern dialects as well as culture. In addition in this class, we examined the different social classes from the New Orleans elite to the white trash of North Carolina. With all these new perspectives, I still think that my South is the South I grew up in. My family has lived in Georgia for 200 odd years in Lincolnton, Ga and just outside of Augusta, Ga. My grandfather was the first in our family to go to college after his service in WWII and he went to UGA. The rest of my family except for me followed in his footsteps and went to college in Athens so my childhood is full of remembrance of watching David Greene cheering on Rocky Top as Larry Munson screamed about hobnail boots. My summers were filled with fishing in my grandma's pond and playing baseball. My South is a picture of a middle class Georgia family, much like my dad's view.

Southern Music

Ill be honest. I really dont know too much about southern music. Ive never really been a fan of country. Given what i could gather from this class, Johnny Cash is my prime example of southern music. He was born in the south(Arkansas), and made very influential music that spanned many different Genres including country, rock and roll, folk, gospel, bleus, and rockabilly.

Lynyrd Skynyrd

I know this sounds so stereotypically Southern but I think my favorite representation of Southern music is the live Atlanta version of Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd(click for video). Its actually not even my favorite song by them (don't even say Sweet Home Alabama), Swamp Music or The Ballad of Curtis Lowe. Lynyrd Skynyrd was ,I would say, the flagship Southern Rock Band of all times if not the 1970's. The band was originally named after a gym teacher who gave them horrible grades because they wouldn't cut their hair.

Eng 1102 and the South

Over the course of the semester we have been involved in many projects in this class. The question I pose to you today is which project has given you the most insight about what the south truly is. Investigate, ponder, and then relay your results back to the blog. Have fun

The South through Music

Below I've compiled a series of different music videos from different genres. Each one portrays the South either visually or lyrically and includes imagery of open fields and front porches. Give 'em a listen!

Alabama - High Cotton

Nappy Roots - Small Town

Ray Charles - Georgia on my Mind

The Growth of Tolerence

The South will always have to live with a stigmatism: the negative image created by the civil turmoil left behind from the days of slavery and its institutions. When someone thinks of a "southerner" often times the figure is clad in white sheets. Media does nothing to forget this image and it can be found in movies and tv shows including: Justified, Bad Boys 2, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Blazing Saddles, and Step Brothers. What is not as advertised is how far our society has grown from those pre-Civil War days. America is more diverse than ever before and the Southern United States is no exception. Schools and neighbor hoods are no longer divided by race and single race institutions are losing popularity. The current status of the Morris Brown College is evidence that as the South has become more cultured the demand for all black universities has declined. Another good example is and article about the controversy of the Confederate Flag found here.

My New South

At the beginning of the semester I would have described what's Southern just like everyone else would have: exactly how its been marketed. By examining areas of Southern culture and the novels and articles presented in class I have drastically changed my notions about the Southern United States and how I interpret everything in general. What we have learned in this class can be applied to much more than just the southern image and should. Life and how our society works often makes the truth difficult to discern but the techniques and practices taught to me in this second semester will help me for the rest of my life.

Loss of Southern Identity

This past week I spent my spring break in another popular beach resort, Destin, Florida. On this trip, I noticed many of the things pointed out by the previous bloggers. First of all, to get to Destin, I had to drive through some of the most rural southern places i have ever seen in Alabama and Florida. All of a sudden, when you reach the city of Destin the scenery completely changes. People from all over the country populate the area and it gives of a completly tourist trap vibe. Because of what i found at this location, I believe that most southern beach resorts no longer even try to be southern.

Hilton Head

I went to Hilton Head for Spring Break one year with my family. I remember thats the island is mainly just full of golf courses and condos. The island basically puts on a personna much like Seaside in Florida. It plays more on being a coastal place instead of the traditional Southern stereotype. I think do this much more than other Southern tourist traps because these places attract a lot of Northerners during the summer and spring break. I did however this Spring Break when i visited Seaside I did eat at a pretty stereotypical Southern restaurant with some good fried oysters and hole fried okra.

Hilton Head

This past week I spent my spring break off the coast of South Carolina on hilton Head Island... with half of Ohio. Before my most recent vacation I had never seen a license plate from the Buckeye State. Over a four day period I would become very acquainted. We had mentioned that Hilton Head was a false representation of the South but I was surprised to see a lack of southern images. The restaurants and shops made no attempt to be overly country, with most being regular seafood joints and surf shops. The local mall included a variety of shops and didn't seem to force the point of being southern. Maybe the Island is losing its personality instead of putting on a fake one.

Perception of Southern culture

     When I first told my friends and family I decided to go to Georgia Tech, their immediate reactions were You're going to school in the South? Before college, I had no connection to the South, and no previous exposure to the actual culture of the region. So in my mind, the South was the way it was portrayed in media - country, farmlands, non-industrialized. However, throughout the course of this course I have learned that many areas in the South are very developed and modern. After living in Atlanta for six months, my perception of Southern culture had slowly changed.
    For my group's photo essay, we visited Greater Traveler's Rest Baptist Church, a megachurch in Decatur. The church's congregation comprised of more than 2,000 members and its property consisted of 5 buildings in total. Visiting Greater Traveler's Rest helped alter the perception I had of the South.  The video below of the church's choir demonstrates exactly how large the congregation is on a normal day.

Southern Heritage

Throughout the course of this semeseter I have to come to realize that the "South" is not one place, one mindeset, or one way of acting. The "South", or southern way is composed of a plethora of different people's experience. In this Def Jam Poetry video by Jason Carney he talks about some of his experiences about being a southerner. His recollection is one of a hundred thousand that piece together to form a Pangea like masterpiece. This is how my perception of the south has changed over the course of the semester.

What I've Learned

When I came into this class, I had my perception of the South, the South I had grown up with. My South was everyone on Saturday either tailgating at Sanford Stadium or watching the game on mute with Larry Munson blarring through the house. It was eating Holcomb's chopped pork and brunswick stew then running outside with my brother to go fish in my Granny's pond. So far, I've learned that there are so many different parts to Southern culture that differ from region to region. In Carolina, you have your mustard based barbeque sauces and in New Orleans you have so many differing neighborhoods. Allison's South differs so much from mine, as I'm used to my Granny's huge farm, although we both spend time on the porch.

Re-evaluation of Southern Culture

The topic of this class and, more specifically, this blog is to learn about southern identity and culture. We have passed the midpoint of the semester and have recently completed a photo essay project in which we had to go off campus and conduct interviews about this topic throughout the city. After all of this, evaluate how your perception of southern culture has changed over the course of this class.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Probably one of the most stereo-typical southern foods is fried green tomatoes, which is unfortunate because it's one of my favorite foods in the world. Basically you take unrippened tomatoe and you cut into slices, I like the semi thick ones, and bread them. My mom breads them with cornmeal which makes them a little crunchy. My dad's favorite place to eat friend green green tomatoes is at the Blue Willow Inn, located in Social Circle, Georgia. The restaurant is an old plantation-style house converted to serve Sunday brunch and draws in a large crowd for its southern charm.

Southern Experience

Well Teresa, growing up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama many things shaped my life. As you know by now Alabama Football rules here, but what overtook that for me was soccer. I have been playing since I was 3 years old. I don't think its so rare for people to play soccer in the South, but comparing it to how all my friends either played baseball, basketball, football, or ran track I was kind of the odd man out. This bothered me for the longest of time, but as I grew older and matured I understood that playing football or basketball in the South would not make me any "cooler." My character depended on me and I determined what ideals would form my passions. My old soccer club is used to win state championships back to back which is what helped me gain a passion for winning.

Southern Culture in Your Life

For this week, write a post that recounts an experience where your Southern identity has directly affected your life. Describe how that event played out and why Southern culture made a difference in the situation. Would someone not from the South have treated the situation in the same way? Also explain how you were influenced by this specific event.

Barbeque

One could make the argument that barbeque is the most significant food tradition to come out of the South. This is mainly because of its connection to southern identity. The following clip is a trailer from the world championship barbeque circuit and takes place in Kansas City and Memphis. It shows its roots in southern history and culture with its togetherness and emphasis on southern Steryotypes. Please reference my Visual Analysis Project for further analysis.

Family Quotes

My family has a bunch of funny Southern sayings, many of which come from my uncle. When its cold outside, he loves to say "it's colder than a well diggers ass in the klondike", a saying which I've picked up and use all the time. Not many people get this saying and I've got to explain to them how it gets colder the further down in the soil. Another saying we have in my family is "fatter than a tick" and "shoot the rabbit". "Fatter than a tick" is a funny saying based on the swelling of ticks when feeding on something. My granny used to say "shoot the rabbit" when changing the little kids cuz they would put their arms up like they were surrendering. Those are just some funny sayings we keep in our family.

Git-r-Done!!!!!

Git-r-Done is a term that was coined by the comedian Larry the Cable Guy in his stand up acts. This phrase has become a wide phenomena when people want to be funny by replacing the words "yes" or "ok". It seems so stupid but, personally I have a had a full conversation with people just having a good time saying, "Git ur Done!!" The steryotype of people who use this is redneck, hillbilly, country, southern people who don't have anything better to do with their time. You can view all the meanings and possible ways this word can be used by this word at urban dictionary . You will find a plethora of interesting topics here. Until next week I'm out of here.

Sweet Tea

Known as the "Champagne of the South", sweet tea is a signature drink of the South and is served at mostly every restaurant in the region. The popularity of the drink originates from the end of the Civil War when poverty was prevalent and the ingredients for sweet tea - water, tea leaves, and sugar - were inexpensive. Not only is sweet tea is traditional summertime drink, it is a year round staple.

The first recipe for sweet tea was published in 1879 in Housekeeping in Old West Virginia by Marion Cabell Tyree. Since then, the importance of sweet tea as a part of the Southern diet has been evident. In 2003, House Bill 819 was written trying to make a law that every restaurant serving iced tea must also serve sweet tea in the state of Georgia. The bill proposal was intended to be humorous, but it shows the significance of sweet tea's impact on Southern identity. Recently, even McDonald's has added sweet tea as a dollar menu item nationwide. To be served in more than 13,000 franchises in the U.S., sweet tea must be a pretty big deal.

Sit down and stay a while...

The South has many famous sayings, foods, drinks, and songs. Pick one the four and give a little history of how it came to be and why or who made it famous. HAVE FUN WITH THIS!

SEC: A Tradition of Excellence

These past couple of years a team from the SouthEastern Conference, whether it be Florida, LSU, or Bama, has been in the NCAA National Championship Bowl Game. At the college level where talent is in no way evenly distributed a lot of this success has to be credited to the caliber of player found in the SEC. What is it then that draws five star recruits from across the nation to the hot and humid American South? The answer to that is history. Amazingly a schools past has a major impact on its athletic future. Alabama, our 2010 National Champions, has won the most national championship titles with a total of 13. This tradition draws young talent from sea to shining sea who seek victory in the highest degree. This year the SEC is expected to dominated signing day with five schools with top ten recruiting classes. View recruits here http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/

SEC Football

It is clear that when it comes to major college football, the SEC is the most powerful conference. If you look at the final rankings from this previous season, two of the top three teams in the country came from the SEC including the national champion Alabama. I think the reason for this begins early on. Football is a major part of southern culture. Children are taught from an early age that football is the best sport and they tend to choose football when they begin playing sports. This is in contrast to in other regions of the country where baseball, basketball, and hockey pull in atheletes. I can attest to this fact due to first hand experience. My highschool was a football powerhouse. Sightings of SEC head football coaches such as Mark Richt(UGA), Urban Meyer(UF), and Nick Saban(Alabama) recruiting North Gwinnett atheletes were not uncommon. Jared Cook, now of the NFL's Tennessee Titans, played tight end for my highschool before leaving for SEC football(South Carolina) and then the NFL. South Eastern Conference dominance over major college football is a very true thing and is a product of southern culture

SEC football

I come from a UGA family. My grandpa was the first person from my family to attend college after WW2 with the GI Bill and he went to UGA. Since then, practically everyone in my family has gone to UGA..except for me of course. In this environment, its easy to see the love of football since everything revolved around gameday. The reason for the SEC domination is of course priorities. Since football is such a big part of Southern culture, high school football in the south is stressed and boosters put so much money into the schools, including my school at one point the largest booster in the state of Georgia. With the stressing of good football programs, more quality recruits are produced who intern make their way to SEC schools which also have large boosters that direct their resources at Football. It's a cycle that feeds itself. Boosters buy the best coaches Urban Meyer, Mark Richt, Nick Saban, and also afford to build the largest stadiums which attracts alumni and again feeds into the boosters.

Veterans of the Confederacy

The Sons of the Confederacy, or the Sons of Confederate Veterans, is often misunderstood as clinging to the most negative part of southern history. As posted on their website the SCV was "Organized at Richmond, Virginia in 1896, (and) continues to serve as a historical, patriotic, and non-political organization dedicated to ensuring that a true history of the 1861-1865 period is preserved. Instead of being an embodiment of rebellions past, the group honors those who died during the Civil War who are often overlooked because of the purposes which they fought. More American lives were lost during the Civil War than any war the US has been a part of and it is only right that all the lives that were lost are properly honored.

!!SEC Football!!

Growing up in Alabama you are fed Alabama football everyday for breakfeast, lunch, and dinner. For all schools in the southeastern conference football takes first dividends and is part of everday life. When an SEC school plays outside its conference 9 out of 10 times they are picked to win; why is that? Why do SEC football teams seem to have an innate advatange. Investigate this claim to see if it is derived in truth or just trash talk. This article will help you.

Response to Sons of Confederacy

Personally, I think that there is nothing wrong with preserving history as long as it is not tainted in any way. People have a right to express their beliefs, feelings etc with out having the fear of censureship. On the other hand when people see images such as the one below I would be willing to bet that most people wouldn't think by sitting there holdind a confederate flag that you would be the most friendly person to walk up and talk to. In the end the Sons of Confederacy are just passing down through the generations what is important to them making sure that memories aren't whisked away by this eraser called time.

Sons of Confedercy

http://www.scv.org/One of the things I've seen and heard about growing up are the Sons of the Confedercy. I know my uncle has joined Sons of the Confedercy and you can see their emblems on liscences plates from time to time. This organization prides itself on honoring the Southern veterns of the Civil war and Southern heritage. They also keep a strong relationship with the Military Order of the Stars and Bars. Do you see any relevance in such organizations in todays South and do you find any problems with them.

Sunday Brunch

     In the South, large elaborate home-cooked brunches are a part of the culture. Brunch can be a weekly tradition or an occasional celebration, but it is almost always a grandiose feast of savory dishes. Because brunch is a combination of lunch and breakfast, it offers a wide variety of food; omelets, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, fried okra, cornbread, green beans, hush puppies, pork chops, and grits can all be included.
      Many restaurants in the Atlanta region also offer brunch as part of their menu. The Flying Biscuit, Murphy's, J Christopher's, and The Nook all serve Southern comfort foods daily.
     Not only is brunch a delicious meal, it also serves as a time when families can spend time together and bond. Because many Southerners carry the tradition of having Sunday brunch, family members get a chance to relax and have conversations over a meal. Could brunch be the reason why Southern families are usually so close-knit?

Below is a video of Watershed Restaurant's chef, Scott Peacock, demonstrating his version of Southern brunch.

Southern Food

In Augusta, Sconyers is the premier barbque restraunt. Originally established in the 1950's, Sconyers has stayed open with great pulled pork and great hash. On weekends, the parking lot is always full and you must order several days in advance on special holidays like the Fourth of July. During the Carter administration, Sconyers also catered for the White House.

Southern Food

Because Igrew up in a large Italian family, I understand the importance of food to a culture. If you read my proposal, you would know that this is why I have chosen to base my research this semester on food as it relates to southern identity. That leads to the the following video clip.


Paula Deen is a great representation of southern identity. She lost both parents befor the age of 19 and suffered from agoraphobia. She used the comforts associated with cooking southern food to cope with these hardships. This eventually led to her becoming an expert in southern food which led to her current position with a popular Food Network show. This leads to my question and the topic of this weeks blog: Find another example in todays society about how southern food affects southern identity.

No South: Urbanization

I think the notion that southern identity is being destroyed by urbanization and turning the South into the "No South" is true to a certain extent. I have lived in metro Atlanta for seventeen of my eighteen years on this earth. Despite this fact, when most people first meet me they assume i was born and raised in New York. I think this is mostly because of the fact that my parents are both transplants from New York. The urbanization of Atlanta and other parts of the south has led to an increased incidence of this. For example, two of my fathers high school friends from a small town outside of New York City live within 10 miles of us today(completely coincidentally). Also, if you attend Atlanta sporting events like I do(season tickets for the Falcons) you will notice how attendence swells when popular teams from other regions come to town(Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Yankees, etc.) This fact that Atlanta is a very diverse place filled with many non-southerners is a major reason why i do not have a very good grip on southern identity even though i grew up in the south. Therefore, because I have seen this in Atlanta, i agree with the Author of Teresas article somewhat because i can't speak for the rest of the south.

You can take the boy out of Dixie but you can't take the Dixie out of the boy

"We've had the Solid South, the Old South and the New South. But are we heading toward a "No South"?" - Is the South now losing its own individuality due to urbanization?

Urbanization will never take away what makes a person truly southern. With the South's diverse terrain it is hard to say that a suburban or country lifestyle defines Dixie. It is not where you live but the intangibles like the values, food, and the music that determines who you are. Southerners are recognized as hospitable and the all around nicest folk you'll have the good fortune of passing time with.They have been depicted as such in popular tv shows from Andy Griffith to Family Guy*. We are raised to always show respect to elders and kindness towards strangers. I can remember from my childhood being taught to say yes and no ma'am to adults and use please and thank you more often than periods. And no matter how urban the South gets a city will never be able to change the regions love for boiled peanuts, sweet tea, BBQ, peach cobbler, dirty south rap, or good ol' country. When it comes down to it, it's not about what you surround yourself with but what you fill yourself with that makes you southern.

*Episode

Southern Identity

This article claims that southern identity is becoming less and less prevalent, slowly heading toward a "No South". It brings up many points, including a specific perspective on identity, cultural mindsets, and religion. Write about your opinion on one or more of the author's following assertions and whether or not you agree:

"We've had the Solid South, the Old South and the New South. But are we heading toward a "No South"?" - Is the South now losing its own individuality due to urbanization?

"The South has become "sort of like a lifestyle, rather than an identity anymore," James Cobb [..] would argue." - The author makes a reference to Martha Stewart's housing development in Raleigh based off of her neighborhoods in New York and Maine. Is the idea of the 'South' similar to New Orleans/Mardi Gras, just an unrealistic concept marketed to consumers?

"When the local paper recently ran a landfill story with the headline "N.C. set to become Yankee dump," he fired off an angry letter wondering when we'd finally get beyond the Civil War references." - Are people still holding onto the Civil War and that strong feud between North vs. South? If so, why?

"And what about the so-called Bible Belt? Are Southerners really more religious than other Americans?" - Do you think that religion plays a bigger role in the lives of Southerners?

Sorry there are a ton questions, you don't have to answer them all... but since I'm still trying to figure out and understand these Southern cultural ideas, your responses would help a lot!

Positive Southern Cultural Identity

The statement that when the topic of the south comes up, negative stereotypes come to the minds of many is true and unfortunate. To find proof that the south is not just full of underdeveloped rednecks, you need not look further than right here at Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech boasts one of the top engineering colleges in the world and is one of the top Public schools in this country. On top of that, Tech is on the cutting edge of many research opportunities in various fields. It also maintains the southern tradition of southern atheletic excellence with its varsity football and basketball programs nationally ranked. The institution does all of this in Atlanta, the culturally vibrant heart of the south.

The Next Topic

When someone hears the word "southerner" a handful of negative stereotypes come to mind: redneck, racist, underdeveloped, etc. However, these are far from accurate. There are many aspects of southern culture that are extremely positive and need to be celebrated. Find an example of positive southern identity and be creative because there are plenty of characteristics out there (i.e.. hard working/blue collar).

Southern Identity Artifact

When McDonald's first broadcasted its chicken biscuit advertisement and bombarded television viewers with this commercial, I thought to myself, Why would anyone ever eat chicken for breakfast...? That was almost three years ago. Now after being at Georgia Tech for a semester, I have come to realize the uniqueness of Southern food and how well it represents the South.

Chicken biscuits are very popular in the South and are sold at fast food chains like Chick Fil-A, Bojangles, and KFC as well as small mom and pop restaurants. Before coming to Atlanta, having such heavy foods for breakfast was unimaginable. I and most of my friends rarely even ate breakfast, and when we did, it would be at most cereal or a piece of fruit. The art of Southern food though, demonstrates the qualities of Southern culture pretty well. The reason why breakfast was never an important meal to me was because I never had time to sit down and enjoy it. However, in the South, people generally take more time and do things at a leisurely pace. This is why Southern breakfasts include a huge assortment of biscuits, gravy, grits, scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage, pancakes, french toast, waffles, etc.

Rock me momma

Wagon Wheel caries a distinctive southern sound that is mirrored in the music video above. Both the violin and banjo can be found in most music coming from south of the Mason Dixon Line. The lead singer Ketch Secor completes the band's bluegrass twang with an strong southern accent. The song tells the story of a man traveling great distances to see the woman he loves: "I made it down the coast in seventeen hours, pickin me a bouquet of dogwood flowers and I'm a-hopin for Raleigh I can see my baby tonight. . This theme of searching for your "baby" or being away from loved ones can also be found in country, southern rock, and blues. This is a wonderful representation of how southerners are "people" people and are extremely close to family and loved ones. The video has the band performing at a local fair in an open field during a girls show; both of which can be found in most southern cities..

Southern Style

Stretching from the east to west coast no artists can be found with the same chopped and screwed, "swanging low,"and "super swagg" having pace that the dirty south rappers display. This is the south that is represented today in media outlets everywhere. This mixtape cover serves as an avenue to regulate the flow of southern cultrue, identity, and complete essence to the rest of America and the world. I want to convey that I am not writing this as a African-American male thus all I think of is the rap, but rather a student that is a product of my enviornment but at the same time is not defined by it.

Jerry Clower

As a kid growing up, we would drive to see my family in Augusta or Union Point Georgia. The whole way we would listen Jerry Clower, one of my dad's favorite comedians. Jerry Clower was born in Mississsippi and lived around the Yazoo river. He represents more poor white southerners as most of his jokes revolve around coon hunting and dealing with rich folks. His accounts make the Mississippi region sound more backwoods and relatable. I think it is a pretty good depiction especially because a lot of his stories take place during the Great Depression.

MLK Jr. Day Parade

The article and attatched photos comes from "The South" magazine describing the recent Martin Luther King Jr. day parade in Savannah, GA. I think this article offers a representation of the south because it highlights the themes of racism and segregation in the south that we have been discussing in class and the strides taken by a great man to defeat them. I think this article helps say that these problems that once plagued the south are now gone because it celebrates the life of a key figure in the removal of these problems. I think this is an accurate representation of the south because it highlights the civil rights trend that began in the south.

artifact

Find an ARTIFACT (an image, a video clip, an audio file, a song, a book, an article, a statue, whatever) that offers a representation of the South or of southern identity. In your posting, you should:

• introduce the artifact.
• provide any relevant contextual information (i.e., what it is and where it can be found).
• briefly explain what you think the thing says about the region.
• explain how it says it.
• explain why you think this is an accurate representation or not.

The critical thing here: I don't want you to pick something that you think is REPRESENTATIVE of the South, but rather, something that offers a REPRESENTATION of the South. You need to figure out the difference between those two things.