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In this experience, you’ll explore how the US South is not just a place but a cultural and political concept shaped by slavery, segregation, and media. You’ll examine how the Reconstruction Era briefly expanded African American freedoms before White Southern leaders reasserted control through myths like 'The Lost Cause.' This experience unpacks how White masculinity and femininity were constructed to maintain racial hierarchies, reinforcing stereotypes like the 'Bubba,' 'Redneck,' and 'Southern Belle.' You’ll investigate how consumer culture sold Whiteness as the ideal while portraying Blackness as subservient, shaping public perceptions well into the 20th century. Despite these barriers, Black Americans have consistently challenged these narratives through activism and storytelling. Through visual analysis, you’ll critically engage with media representations of race and gender, developing skills to question dominant cultural narratives. This experience encourages you to reflect on how the South’s complex past continues to shape modern politics, media, and power dynamics.
La Shonda MimsUniversity of BirminghamHistory
All episodes
1. Contextualising the US South in the 20th Century
2. Gender and Race in the US South
3. Owning and Selling the South
4. Activity: Advertising in the 20th Century US South
About the university
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham was established in 1825 and was the first Russell Group university to receive a royal charter. As a member of the coveted Russell Group, the University of Birmingham is a prestigious university and considered a top representative of British education. As would be expected from such a high ranking institution, the university has produced many notable alumni including two UK prime ministers - Neville Chamberlain and Stanley Baldwin.
University of Birmingham profile →Meet the academic
La Shonda Mims
La Shonda joined the University of Birmingham in Autumn of 2023. Before relocating to the UK, she was a tenured Associate Professor at Middle Tennessee State University, near Nashville. She has held lecturer positions at several universities in the United States, including Towson University in Maryland, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Kennesaw State University in Georgia. La Shonda has spent most of her life, and earned all her degrees, in the southern states of the US. Prior to entering graduate school, La Shonda worked as a public historian in several museums, including the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Connecticut and the Charlotte, North Carolina, Museum of History. As a professional historian, La Shonda serves on the executive leadership board of the Southern Association for Women in History, the advisory board for OutHistory, and the editorial advisory board for the Politics and Culture in the Twentieth-Century South series of the University of Georgia Press.
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