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

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

October 9,10,11,12,  and November 8, 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, October 9
            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, October 10
            Depart for Memphis at 8am from the Capps building

            Tunica Museum

            Stax Museum of American Soul Music

            Lunch at Interstate Barbecue or Gus's

            Peabody Hotel

            National Civil Rights Museum

            Cotton Museum (assuming there is still time)

            Saturday, October 11  
           Dockery Farms

            “The Cross Roads”

            Ruleville

            Parchman State Penitentiary

            Tutwiler

            Hopson Plantation

            Clarksdale and surrounding area (lunch at Ground Zero or Rest Haven)

            Friars Point

            Riverside Hotel tour

            Mound Bayou

            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, October 12

            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, Mattie's Place, or Mary Hoover's in Greenwood

            Saturday, November 8

            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, November 8, 2008.  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 November 8, 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.  You will receive a copy of selected sections of the text on the first day of class.

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/