This class has not been
taught in several years, but it still might provide some usable resources to
those interested in knowing more about the Mississippi Delta
History
and Culture of The Mississippi Delta
Geography
492/592
Three Semester Hour Credits
Seminar Room, Capps Archives, Mondays, 6-9pm
Presented
by Delta
State University
Faculty:
Luther Brown, Director, The Delta
Center for Culture and Learning
Henry Outlaw, Program Manager, The Delta
Center for Culture and Learning
room 130, Ewing Hall, phone: 846-4311
| The Purpose of the Class | Schedule of Activities | Graded Assignments | Archival Resources at DSU | Daily Reading and Preparation |
This site was last updated on October 23, 2002. It will be edited repeatedly during the course.
Check it often.
Return to The Delta Center for Culture and
Learning homepage
Purpose:
Our goal is to explore the realities, the myths, the history, and the issues of
the Mississippi Delta.
This class is a Learning community. Your participation in the class is predicated on your desire to join in a scholarly investigation of the texts and experiences included in the course. Whether you are enrolled in the class for college credit, or simply joining it without enrolling, you must be an active member of the community of learners.
Schedule of Activities:
August
26
Introduction and overview by, L. Brown
The Mississippi Delta: Land and Legend by, H. Outlaw
September
2 CLASS DOES NOT MEET
due to schedule change. You are STILL
RESPONSIBLE for the journal entry!
Original Topic: Sacred Space and
Delta Landscapes, by Ms Kathleen Robbins,
DSU Art Department.
Sense of Place, by L. Brown.
Film: My Dog Skip
September
9 The Mound
Builders: Ancient People in the Mississippi Delta, by Dr. Jay
Johnson, Associate Director, Center for Archeological Research, and
Professor of Anthropology, The University of Mississippi
September
16 Natural History
of the Lower Mississippi Delta, by Dr. Ron Nassar,
Coordinator, Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee
Dredging
the Sunflower River, a discussion with Mr. Rogers Varner
and Mr. Richard Biles
September 23 The
Mississippi River Levee System and the Army Corps of Engineers,
by Kent Parish, Manager for Mississippi Levees, US Army Corps of
Engineers, Vicksburg District.
September
30 The Flood
of 1927, by Mr. Jim Renfroe, CEO of the 27 Break Hunt Club
Films: The American Experience- Fatal Flood, and The Wrath
of
God, the 1927 Flood
October
7
Demography and economics in the Delta, by Dr. Jerry Robinson,
Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Community Development
at
DSU.
Film: Lalee's Kin: the Legacy of Cotton
October
14
Meet in the Bologna Performing Arts Center (BPAC) at
7:30pm for a special
presentation and book signing by Dr. Douglas Brinkley, co-author
(with Steven Ambrose) of The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation.
October
21
Meet in the Bologna Performing Arts Center recital hall
(BPAC) at 6:30pm for a
presentation on The Civil Rights struggle in Drew, Mississippi, by Constance
Curry, civil rights leader, author, and Fellow of the Women's Studies
Program at Emory University, accompanied by a special viewing
of the new documentary titled The Intolerable Burden produced by
Constance Curry and Chea Prince
October
28
Ethnicity in the Delta, featuring Dr. John Thornell, Provost of DSU,
Vicki Fioranelli and John Raymond Bassi.
Film: Goin' to Chicago
November
4 The Mississippi Delta and the World: the Importance of Cotton, by Mr.
Eugene Dattel, author and entrepreneur. The Delta vs. The Hills:
political
implications of the historical conflict.
November
11
Juke Joints, a discussion with Mr. Willie Seaberry, operator of Po'
Monkey's Lounge
The History of the Blues, by Mr. Jay Kirgis, artist and performer
November
18
Agribusiness and Modern Farming in the Delta, a panel discussion
featuring Ms Ann Shackelford, VP of Delta and Pine Land Company
and Mr. Mike Sanders, CEO of Sanders Seed.
November 25 Present Papers
December 2 Present Papers
December 9 Final Exam
Resource Guide to the Delta State
Archives
For History and Culture of the
Mississippi Delta – Outlaw and Brown
Prepared by Meredith Johnston, DSU Archivist
The Sharecropper System
Oral Histories
The Levee System
Walter Sillers Jr. Papers
Lower Delta Development Papers
Civil Rights in the Mississippi Delta
Walter Sillers Jr. Papers
Oral Histories
Environmental Issues
Lower Mississippi Delta Development Papers
Floods in the Delta
Walter Sillers Jr. Papers
Sillers Family Papers
History and Significance of Mound
Bayou (or any other town)
Oral Histories
Eugene Leftwich Collection
Immigration/Emigration Patterns of the Delta
Oral Histories of African-Americans, Chinese, and Italians in the
Mississippi Delta
Cotton (economics, history of cultivation…)
Walter Sillers Jr. Papers
Walter Sillers Sr. Papers
Rice
Oral Histories
Catfish
Oral Histories
The WPA photographs
We have the Cd-R of the FSA (Farm Security Administration photographs) this
contains info on the photographers, among them Dorothea Lange, and also
statistical data about the counties in Mississippi that the photographers
visited.
Hunt Clubs
Oral Histories
Historic Cemeteries
Eugene Leftwich Collection
History and significance of Dockery Farms or Perthshire or any other large
plantation
Gibert-Knowlton-Lytle Family Papers
Oral Histories
Journal
entries
Your class journal will be a tool to help you
integrate your readings with the notes you took in each class and your own
thoughts about the material under discussion. You will
write an entry for each session, and usually turn it in at the
beginning of the following class (except for the first two entries, which
will be due on Sept. 9, see the "Daily
Reading and Preparation."
Each entry must be a MINIMUM of two pages, double spaced, and typed. It
should have a title that clearly identifies
the class topic, and include: at least a paragraph about the actual class,
together with a summary of the material that was
presented in the assigned readings or web sites. It should end
with a “discussion question” that would be suitable as an
essay question,
asked of class participants. Depending on
our schedule, you may occasionally be asked to read your
essays and questions in
class.
This question will be evaluated based on its relevance and thoughtfulness.
Note that since
we do not meet on Sept. 2, your journal for that date will be based
entirely on the assigned readings.
Journal entries will be graded on the basis of 10 points each. No Journals
will be accepted after Nov. 25.
Research
Project
The Written Paper: This will be a 10 page (minimum) research paper that is typed
and includes references, written
in standard format. The topic will focus on some aspect of the history and
culture of the region. Suggestions
appear on the syllabus, but other topics might also be appropriate. Make sure that your topic is approved before
spending time on this assignment! The
papers will be graded for content and for format.
to be of high quality, and reflect the grammar, construction, and
intellectual development normal to a 400/500 level
University class. Papers will include references, and you are urged
to use the DSU Archives when looking for primary
sources.
The Oral Presentation: You
will present an oral version of your research project to the class at the end of
the
term. Your talk should last
between 10 and 15 minutes, and include visual or musical aids if appropriate.
You
should include about 3 minutes for questions.
Talks will be graded on their content and the presentation itself.
You will have access to a computer and projector if you want to use presentation
graphics. As in the case of the written
paper, we expect professionalism in your presentation's content and
performance.
Oral presentations will be given on November 25
and December 2. The oral presentation is worth a total of 50 points.
The Electronic Version: We will ultimately construct a class web site at
www.blueshighway.org. Your research
project will be added to that site after you submit it on a disk in HTML.
You are urged to use Microsoft FrontPage, available in Microsoft Office
on any campus computer..
The text of your “web site” will probably be drawn directly from
your written paper, but will be abbreviated to a minimum of three written
pages. You are also required to
include a
minimum of one image and three html links (these are minimum requirements,
include more if desired). One of
the html links must be to your own email account so that readers can
contact you by email. This project
will be
graded on the content and the presentation.
have interesting backgrounds, etc. Simply representing your written
paper as text will not be adequate. Also note that
you are not asked to publish your web site, but simply asked to turn it in on a
disk.
Electronic versions are due on December 4.
The electronic presentation is worth a total of 50 points.
Final Exam There will be a written final exam on December 9. The final exam is worth a total of 100 points.
Class
Participation
You are expected to be an engaged participant in each class.
Many classes will involve some sort of preparation.
This may include reading a handout, or visiting web sites and reading the
material they present. You are expected
to know what is required for each class, and complete any required
pre-class preparations. These preparations
will always be posted on this web site at least a week in advance, so
check this site often. We may not discuss every
article, but plan
on being able to discuss them by making notes while you read them.
We may also have optional field trip opportunities
during the course. If we do, they
will be scheduled for Saturdays or
evenings, and will usually last half a day.
Attendance
Your
participation during every class, for the entire duration of the class, is
absolutely required. We
expect all participants to arrive on time, and to remain for the whole
class, every meeting. Absences will only be
excused for the most critical reasons, and unexcused absence for two
classes will result in being
cut-out.