About this course: From small farms to urban neighborhoods, from the region itself to the more distant worlds of the southern diaspora, we discover the stories, music, and art of the American South.
Created by: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Taught by: Dr. William Ferris, Joel R. Williamson Eminent Professor of History; Senior Associate Director of CSAS; Adjunct Professor in the Curriculum in Folklore
Department of History
| Commitment | 6 hours of videos and quizzes |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Introduction to the American South
Reflecting on geography, the diaspora, the mythic and the global South as ways to approach the contested memory of the region.
6 videos
- Video: Welcome to the American South
- Video: The Region, the Diaspora, and the Mythic
- Video: Contested Memory and the Global South
- Video: Race, Class and Gender
- Video: My Story
- Video: Teachers
Graded: Introduction to the American South
WEEK 2
Oral Tradition
Considering the content and form of the stories, toasts, dozens, auctions and religious sermons and what they reveal about Southern Culture.
8 videos
- Video: A Story Well Told
- Video: Poppa Jazz talks Heaven and Hell
- Video: Toasts and Dozens
- Video: The Auctioneer
- Video: Trading
- Video: The Sermon
- Video: Of the Book and of the Spirit
- Video: The Key to Southern Culture
Graded: Oral Tradition
WEEK 3
Southern Artists
Understanding the distinction between folk art traditions and the high art of the academy with examples of basket-weaving, quilt-making, sculpture, painting, and photography.
11 videos
- Video: Formal and Folk Art
- Video: Basket Weaving
- Video: Quilting
- Video: Folk Sculpture
- Video: Folk Painting
- Video: Community Tradition
- Video: Black and White Photography
- Video: Color Photography
- Video: Sense of Place
- Video: Sense of History
- Video: Literature's Influence
Graded: Southern Artists
WEEK 4
Southern Writers
Examining the lives and works of great Southern writers and looking at how specific stories, music, and art are referenced and provide structure for literary forms such as the novel and the short story.
7 videos
- Video: Southern Letters
- Video: The Voice
- Video: The Short Story
- Video: Eudora Welty and Cleanth Brooks: Literary Friends
- Video: Southern Novelists
- Video: Alice Walker: Regions of the Heart
- Video: The Question of Black Humanity
Graded: Southern Writers
WEEK 5
Roots Music
Exploring Southern music and its roots in work chants, fife and drum, and one-strand on the wall music.
8 videos
- Video: One-Strand on the Wall
- Video: Country Roots
- Video: Fife and Drum
- Video: Sacred Harp
- Video: Spirituals
- Video: "Our Father"
- Video: Gospel
- Video: Work Chants
Graded: Roots Music
WEEK 6
The Blues
Focusing on this distinctive form of music, so intimately defined by sense of place, class, race, and tradition.
8 videos, 1 reading
- Video: The Heart of Oral Tradition
- Video: Country Blues
- Video: Urban Blues
- Video: Saturday Night, Sunday Morning
- Video: Where Do the Blues Come From?
- Video: The Club Circuit
- Video: Professor of the Blues
- Video: The Family
- Reading: Additional Resources
Graded: Blues
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
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Creators
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is known around the world for innovative teaching and research. Regularly ranked as the nation’s best value for academic quality, UNC has produced the most Rhodes Scholars for the past 25 years among U.S. public research universities.
Pricing
| Purchase Course | Audit | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Available | Not available |
| Receive a final grade | Available | Not available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Available | Not available |
Ratings and Reviews
I want to thank Dr. Ferris for allowing us to get an inside to the beautiful worlds in the American South. The work Dr. Ferris has done in his career documenting the South and mastering it, is truly amazing. This is by far the most enjoyable class I have ever taken!
Great Material. Quizes and discussions didn't work, But i was only auditing the course. There is a wealth of information.
I learned so much about the South that I didn't already know.
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BA
Loved it although i wish i could have taken the quizzes as an auditor just to check what i had learned.