Rural and Regional Studies RRS 442/542:  Delta Heritage Studies

An intensive experiential exploration of the history and culture of the Mississippi Delta. 

March 27, 28, 29, 30,  and April 26, 2008.

Faculty and staff:

Dr. Luther Brown, Director of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning

            Room 130 Ewing Hall, lbrown@deltaste.edu, phone: 846-4311 or 4312

Lee Aylward, Program Associate in The Delta Center for Culture and Learning

            Room 130 Ewing Hall, laylward@deltastate.edu,  phone: 846-4311 or 4327

Don’t forget to bring lunch money each day, and be ready for a full day of exploration!

Itinerary in brief:

Thursday, March 27
            Meet in the Charles Capps Archives at 7pm.  We will introduce the course and the general topic of Delta Heritage.  We will then depart for Po' Monkey's Lounge in Merigold around 8:30pm  There is a $5 cover charge for this event, and you may also want to get a genuine Po' Monkey's Poster, signed by the man himself, or a t-shirt, each for $15!

Friday, March 28
            Depart for Memphis at 8am from the Capps building

            Tunica Museum

            Stax Museum of American Soul Music

            Peabody Hotel (lunch in Peabody Place)

            National Civil Rights Museum

            Cotton Museum (assuming there is still time)

            Saturday, March 29   
            Meet at Capps Archive at 8 am for viewing of Fatal Flood, the story of the flood of 1927

            departure for Greenville at 9:30

            religious heritage as exemplified by

Mt. Horeb Missionary Baptist Church (where William Alexander Percy spoke to the Black leadership in 1927)

St. Matthews AME (where Leontyne Price, Langston Hughes, and Woodrow Wilson all appeared)

Hebrew Union Temple (with a museum commemorating the flood of 1927)

Church of the Sacred Heart (on the sites of the first seminary for African American priests in America (1820) and possibly other sites, with lunch along the way (bring money)

            return to campus around 4:30 for viewing of a documentary on the murder of Emmett Till

 Homework assignment:  Go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/till/index.html and explore the site.  After doing so, click on the button that says “special features” and go to the very last one, the “Killer’s Confession.”  This takes you to an article published in Look Magazine.  Read this article before tomorrow’s class.

Sunday, March 30

            Introduction and Emmett Till video at 8am in the Capps building

            Heritage sites in Mound Bayou, Drew, Ruleville and Money
            Robert Johnson's grave and various sites in Greenwood including Fort Pemberton, Viking Range, etc.

            Indianola, with discussion of BB King Museum and Club Ebony

            Where the Southern Crosses the Dog

            Charlie Patton and Willie Foster Grave sites

            Discussion of the Mississippi Blues Heritage Trail and other heritage trails under development

            Lunch along the way, possibly at the Crystal Grill or Mattie's Place in Greenwood

            Saturday, April 26

            Research projects due and class presentations

Course requirements:

This course is largely experiential.  It absolutely requires your full engagement and participation.  Consequently, class participation is a large contributor to the final grade.  In the context of this class, participation means

            Being on time- delaying the class because you are late is not evidence of good participation

            Being engaged with our subject- talking about class subject matter as we drive across the Delta is good evidence of being engaged.  Sleeping or talking about other subjects is not evidence of engagement.  Head sets, ear phones, and cell phones should NOT BE USED during class time.

            Being a contributor- adding to the learning experience by relating your own experiences or discussing texts or films not only makes for better learning by everyone, but also shows that you are actively advancing the course.

A research project will be due at 8am on Saturday, April 26, 2004.  It is your responsibility to remember this, so don’t forget!  The project must relate directly to Delta history and culture, and it must have a research aspect, although it can also have a photographic or pictorial component.  Your project should be in the same format and style as the assigned reading, and must include at least four topics (like those listed in the reading), with at least one reference for each topic.  Your references will be evaluated for credibility, accuracy, and appropriateness.  Your project should be a minimum of four typed pages in length (standard margins, 12 point type).  Evaluation of your project will be based on the strength of the issues you addressed, the quality of your research, and  written presentation.  On April 28, each of you will be given ten minutes to present your research to the class orally.  This presentation will also be graded, so please make it concise, convincing, and informative.  Feel free to use PowerPoint, recordings, or video if needed to make your presentation convincing.

The class reading is The Mississippi Delta, the Place, the Mindset, which is a developing encyclopedia of Delta history and culture.  You are expected to have studied this text thoroughly by the end of the class.  This text is written and copyrighted by Luther Brown.

Missed class and cut-out Policy:  Our class is very intense, but very brief.  You must attend every class session to earn credit.  Missing a single day will result in being dropped from the class.

return to the Delta Center home page at http://www.blueshighway.org/