Re: Southern Identity

Certainly both internal and external definitions must be taken into
account.. part of what makes up an identity is how one feels to be
perceived. Today i would think that American perceptions of the South
away from either the North or the South would be valuable, as this
point of view was miniscule or seriously under developed at the time of
the civil war. It would be interesting to compare and contrast the
views of the perceives the south versus what someone from Phoenix
thinks..
Even within the South its self I am quite sure a myriad of self
definitions exist. A solipsistic definition of someone who was born in
New Orleans would be very different from that of someone born in
Nashville.
Southern self identity is also im****tant.. but what is that? It must be
hard to reconcile all that honor and virtuous heritage Southerns are
always going on about with the fact that their society is built upon
the bulwark of a conquered culture. The loss of the Civil War still
plays a hefty role in forging Southern identity.
I feel it is time the South moves on and carves a new self definition
apart from either the Civil War or antebellum heritage.
To isolate the 'current' definition would be vital then in the process
of making a new one. And its really about time.

Brooks Simpson wrote:
> I'm curious to know what folks here might make of recent efforts to
> explore anew the notion of southern identity, especially Jim Cobb's
> Away Down South.  Here's a link:
>
>
http://www.us.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryAmerican/Cultural/?view=usa&ci=9780195089592
>
> What do you think is the best way to explore this question?  Cobb looks
> at this both in terms of how southerners defined themselves and how
> non-southerners (primarily northerners) went about the same enterprise
> (and how these two endeavors interacted).  What's the relevance of such
> studies for historical interpretation/explanation/understanding?