The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, Volume 18 - by Allison Graham & Sharon Monteith & Charles Reagan Wilson (Paperback)

About the Book

"Sponsored by The Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi."

Book Synopsis

This volume of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture examines how mass media have shaped popular perceptions of the South -- and how the South has shaped the history of mass media. An introductory overview by Allison Graham and Sharon Monteith is followed by 40 thematic essays and 132 topical articles that examine major trends and seminal moments in film, television, radio, press, and Internet history. Among topics explored are the southern media boom, beginning with the Christian Broadcast Network and CNN; popular movies, television shows, and periodicals that have shaped ideas about the region, including Gone with the Wind, The Beverly Hillbillies, Roots, and Southern Living; and southern media celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Truman Capote, and Stephen Colbert. The volume details the media's involvement in southern history, from depictions of race in the movies to news coverage of the civil rights movement and Hurricane Katrina. Taken together, these entries reveal and comment on the ways in which mass media have influenced, maintained, and changed the idea of a culturally unique South.

Review Quotes

"[A] multi-year, multi-dimensional, and unprecedented series." -- Library Journal

"A very high standard of quality. Browsing through it will reward and, like a favorite episode of Andy Griffith, ultimately satisfy." -- Florida Historical Quarterly

"An interesting addition to the wide array of topics covered in other volumes of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Most academic and larger public libraries, especially those that own other volumes of the encyclopedia, will definitely want to add this title." -- American Reference Books Annual

"In powerful and subtle ways, the author's introduction and individual selections underscore that the South may have been more influential on the national psyche overall than that of any other place or region other than the generic west or New York City." -- Louisiana History

"Readers interested in the media's cultural power will find this reference work useful, entertaining, and often provocative." -- North Carolina Historical Review

"This book addresses the breadth of mass media and a media-shaped South. . . . Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers." -- CHOICE

About the Author

Allison Graham is professor of media studies at the University of Memphis.
Sharon Monteith is professor of American studies at the University of Nottingham.
Charles Reagan Wilson is Kelly Gene Cook Sr. Chair in History and Professor of Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi. He is coeditor, with William Ferris, of the original Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.