Take On The South Institute for Southern Studies, University of South Carolina

Today, Take on the South introduces a brand-new journal
dedicated to all things South Carolina, Carolina Currents: Studies in South Carolina Culture.  Mark Smith talks with the journal’s editor, Professor Christopher D. Johnson of Francis Marion University, about Carolina Currents—its content, mission, and the topics it covers.  Listeners are invited to email Professor Johnson directly if they have questions about the journal: CJohnson@fmarion.edu

In the last episode of season three, Mark Smith is joined by one of the most talented historians of the American South and author of the one of the most important books ever written on the region: Peter H. Wood. Professor Wood is author of Black Majority: Race, Rice, and Rebellion in South Carolina, 1670-1740. A landmark work published fifty years ago, Black Majority has stood the test of time. Find out why on today's episode.

Today on the program we delve into the fascinating world of historic preservation to discover what preservation is, how it works, and what gets to be preserved (and what doesn't). Robin Waites, executive director of Historic Columbia, joins Mark Smith to talk about historic preservation and to reflect on her two-plus decades of leadership in the field.

Emily Allen interviews Dr. Simon Buck, a writer, historian, and musician. His first monograph, on old age and music in the US
South, is under contract with the University of Illinois Press. He is employed at the University of Edinburgh (UK) on research projects concerning the intersection of British slavery, healthcare, and university education in Edinburgh. The interview focuses on Buck's article “‘Up on Cripple Creek’: Limb Loss, Difference, and Disability Spectacle in Southern Roots Music.”  

The story of the South is also the story of Civil Rights.  On this episode of Take on the South, we explore how the Civil Rights Movement has shaped the South and how the story continues to
unfold.  Mark Smith is joined by Professor Bobby Donaldson, a professor in the History department and Director of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research, at the University of South Carolina, who shares some remarkable stories about Civil Rights in the American South.

This special episode of Take on the South is a compilation of short segments from the students in the Spring 2024 course Popular Musics of the US South. Each student discusses the history of a particular pop music artist or genre with roots in the South. The students featured in this episode are Brooks Bishop, Josh Browning, Will Byars, Justin Gilbert, Jorden Jeffers, Annie Matson, Chris Nash, Cameran Peake, Logan Rodgers, and Wilson Stokes.