Originally published in 1979. The idea of the "South" has its roots in Romanticism and American culture of the nineteenth century. This study by Michael O'Brien analyzes how the idea of a unique Southern consciousness endured into the twentieth century and how it affected the lives of prominent white Southern intellectuals. Individual chapters treat Howard Odum, John Donald Wade, John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, Frank Owsley, and Donald Davidson. The chapters trace each man's growing need for the idea of the South—how each defined it and how far each was able to sustain the idea as an element of social analysis. The Idea of the American South moves the debate over Southern identity from speculative essays about the "central theme" of Southern history and, by implication, past the restricted perception that race relations are a sufficient key to understanding the history of Southern identity.
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Preface to the paperback editionAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I. The LegacyChapter 1. On the Idea of the South: Origins, Mutation, and FragmentationPart II. The Sociological Vision: Howard OdumChapter 2. Odum: Sociology in the SouthChapter 3. Odum: Southern SociologyChapter 4. Odum: The Failure of Regionalism entr'acte: A Still Point: John WadeChapter 5. Wade: A Turning InwardPart III. The Reaction to Modernism: The Southern AgrariansChapter 6. John Ransom: The Cycle of CommitmentChapter 7. Allen Tate: 'The Punctilious Abyss"Chapter 8. Frank Owsley: 'The Immoderate Past"Chapter 9. Donald Davidson: "The Creed of Memory"Part IV. The Survival of Southern IdentityChapter 10. The Idea of the South: An InterpretationNotesBibliographical noteIndex
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781421433622
Publisert
2020-01-26
Utgiver
Vendor
Johns Hopkins University Press
Vekt
408 gr
Høyde
229 mm
Bredde
152 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
302

Forfatter

Biographical note

Michael O'Brien was a professor of American intellectual history at the University of Cambridge who focused on Southern intellectual history. He also taught at Vanderbilt University, the University of Michigan, the University of Arkansas, and Miami University.