ALST 245 - Dirty South

The Dirty South offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the rich history, cultural and aesthetic traditions, as well as the environmental and architectural landscapes that make up Black southern life in the United States. The course title, which is inspired by the Black southern vernacular phrase for the region, marks the course’s focus on the particularly diverse mixture of cross-cultural, diasporic traditions, beliefs and practices that define the south, from Virginia to Texas and all points in between. Course materials include readings that chronicle histories of slavery, Jim Crow, mass incarnation and gentrification, personal narratives that provide insights into historical and contemporary political realities and social movement organizing, and music, film, and visual art that lend an affective window into the sensory, spatial, and creative dimensions of the Black south. In addition to considering the profound social fabric of Black southern life and its larger impact on the United States, students also explore how this culture and region present a generative challenge to conventional notions that posit identity and geographical boundaries as clear and distinct categories.

Credits: 1.0
Crosslisted:

CORE 145C

Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: None
Area of Inquiry: None
Liberal Arts CORE: None

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