What does "redneck" mean? What's going to happen to the southern accent? What makes black southerners laugh? What is "real" country music? These are the kinds of questions that pop up in this collection of notable essays from Southern Cultures, the journal of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Intentionally plural, Southern Cultures was founded in 1993 to present all sides of the American South, from sorority sisters to Pocahontas, from kudzu to the blues.

This volume collects 27 essays from the journal's first fifteen years, bringing together some of the most memorable and engaging essays as well as some of those most requested for use in courses. A stellar cast of contributors discusses themes of identity, pride, traditions, changes, conflicts, and stereotypes. Topics range from black migrants in Chicago to Mexican immigrants in North Carolina, from Tennessee wrestlers to Martin Luther King, from the Civil War to contemporary debates about the Confederate flag. Funny and serious, historical and contemporary, the collection offers something new for every South-watcher, with fresh perspectives on enduring debates about the people and cultures of America's most complex region.

Contributors:
Derek H. Alderman, East Carolina University
Donna G'Segner Alderman, Greenville, North Carolina
S. Jonathan Bass, Samford University
Dwight B. Billings, University of Kentucky
Catherine W. Bishir, Preservation North Carolina
Kathleen M. Blee, University of Pittsburgh
Elizabeth Boyd, Vanderbilt University
James C. Cobb, University of Georgia
Peter A. Coclanis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Joseph Crespino, Emory University
Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvard University
franklin forts, University of Georgia
David Goldfield, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Larry J. Griffin, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Adam Gussow, University of Mississippi
Trudier Harris, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Patrick Huber, University of Missouri-Rolla
Louis M. Kyriakoudes, University of Southern Mississippi
Melton McLaurin, University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Michael Montgomery, University of South Carolina
Steve Oney, Los Angeles, California
Theda Perdue, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Dan Pierce, University of North Carolina at Asheville
John Shelton Reed, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Mart Stewart, Western Washington University
Thomas A. Tweed, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Timothy B. Tyson, Duke University
Anthony Walton, Bowdoin College
Harry L. Watson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Charles Reagan Wilson, University of Mississippi
C. Vann Woodward (1908-1999)