Additional information
by Richard Pillsbury (Editor)
The location of "the South" is hardly a settled or static geographic concept. Culturally speaking, are Florida and Arkansas really part of the same region? Is Texas considered part of the South or the West? This volume of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture grapples with the contestable issue of where the cultural South is located, both on maps and in the minds of Americans.
Richard Pillsbury's introductory essay explores the evolution of geographic patterns of life within the region--agricultural practices, urban patterns, residential buildings, religious preferences, foodways, and language. The entries that follow address general topics of cultural geographic interest, such as Appalachia, exiles and expatriates, Latino and Jewish populations, migration patterns, and the profound Disneyfication of central Florida. Entries with a more concentrated focus examine major cities, such as Atlanta, New Orleans, and Memphis; the influence of black and white southern migrants on northern cities; and individual subregions, such as the Piedmont, Piney Woods, Tidewater, and Delta. Putting together the disparate pieces that make up the place called "the South," this volume sets the scene for the discussions in all the other volumes of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.
Front Jacket
Articles in this volume explore the "where" of southern culture, past and present, as cities have grown larger and more important in the region's cultural landscape and heritage once passed along through the telling of tales is increasingly learned through books. This volume traces the evolution of southern culture and gives a spatial perspective to where the region's traditions and changes are taking place. Putting together the disparate pieces that make up this place called "the South," this volume provides a contextual setting for the discussions in all the other volumes of The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture.
