Symposium to examine South

Symposium to examine South’s changes

BY MISTY CORNELIUS
Rice News staff

The Department of History will host the first of what will become a biennial symposium on Southern history Feb. 25-26. The two-day event will feature lectures by four distinguished scholars of Southern history, followed by two shorter commentator presentations and an audience discussion period.

Each discussion will detail the dramatic changes undergone by the region over the course of the 20th century and include the topics of cultural attitudes, economics, politics, race and urbanization.

“This particular time period was chosen because of the need to start thinking about the overwhelming change that has come over the South in the past 100 years, from a predominantly rural and poor South to an urban, industrialized society,” said Randal L. Hall, associate editor of the Journal of Southern History. “Our guest speakers are eminent scholars and historians on this period of Southern history, and we are thrilled to have their participation at our first symposium.”

Speakers during the event will include W. Fitzhugh Brundage from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill; Bruce J. Schulman from Boston University; Pamela Tyler from North Carolina State University; and Clarence E. Walker from the University of California–Davis. Formal comments will be given by Alex Lichtenstein, associate professor of history, and Neil Foley from The University of Texas–Austin.

“Rice has a long tradition in the study of Southern history and has hosted the Journal of Southern History since 1959,” said John Boles, the William P. Hobby professor and managing editor of the Journal of Southern History. “We also have a strong graduate program in the field, and this symposium will allow our graduate students a forum to learn and discuss Southern history with several of the most prominent historians in the field.”

The symposium, which is being funded by Southern National Bank, kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25 and concludes at 4 p.m. Feb. 26. The opening session Friday evening will be held in the International Conference Facility, James A. Baker III Hall, while Saturday’s activities will take place in McMurtry Auditorium, Anne and Charles Duncan Hall. A reception will follow the Friday evening presentation.

Admission is free and open to the public. More information on the event can be found at <www.ruf.rice.edu/~opa/southernhistory/index.html>.