The Southern Quarterly was originally published in 2000 by the University of Southern Mississippi. It has different subjects throughout its various different issues, including subjects such as: aspects of the Southern United States, United States history, and American Literature. In the description of the article itself, it analyzes Southern culture through literature, folklore, anthropology, and history (ebsco host). For example, one of the earlier articles that this journal publishes was titled “Negotiating boundaries of Southern Womanhood: Dealing with the Powers that Be” (Petry). This journal is still publishing its collection of articles to this day, with it publishes by season. So, it has Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter issues. This journal is located at the University of Southern Mississippi still, and has recently published its Winter 2019 journal. This journal can be very useful for English majors because it shows insight into how Southern culture works and how it has developed over time. It can also show a large degree of how Southern writers produce their material, and how the way that they write can vary from other writers in different parts of the United States. For example, one article that is published is titled “Culture and Ideology: The Gothic Revival in the Backlot of Antebellum Charleston” (Ellis et al.,). This just shows how this article not only reflects the culture in the South, but also the different methods in which it is written with.
With this journal, there are specific criteria that one must follow in order to be able to have their work published in this article. You must have an article that is based on solid documentation, that is seated in literary or critical theory, and that make and original and important contribution to the study of the American South. Articles are not allowed to exceed twenty to twenty-five double-spaced pages in length, along with all of the sources and documentation (The Southern Quarterly). These are the basic guidelines, and as the articles are submitted, they must go through the editorial board. It also states that if you are submitting something and it does not get published, then it becomes the property of The Southern Quarterly. The editorial board consists of many people, with the main editor being Kate Cochran. This journal’s main focus is to shine a light on what Southern culture is, was, and what is projected to happen in the South in the future. This journal is currently calling for people to submit their own original articles for the Spring/Summer of 2020, the Fall of 2020, and the Winter of 2021. These articles must go along with the pre-selected theme of each seasonal publication, and must make sense to the topic that is shown.
While this journal looks into the different issues and topics in the South, its articles range widely from publication to publication. In the Fall of 2015, for example, the articles focused mainly on death. There was one article in this particular publication titled “Pleading with Death: Folk Visions of Death (and Life) in the New South” (Hayes). This article explores the new looks into the various ways that the South perceives myths about death, and how they cope with it in today’s world and society. In another article stemming from the same published issue, titled as “Lay It All on the Table: Death in the American South,” this article touches on how older traditions around death flow into the new age (Smith). This article focused on touching on how old traditions correlate still with newer traditions in the South, and can still be seen in morphed ways. In another issue that was published in 2003, however, the articles were centered on a person rather than an idea. This particular issue focused on Richard Marius. They ranged from an analysis of the man himself, to a glimpse and discussion about how he lived his life. One of the works written about him, titled “Re-visioning the overland trail: Richard Marius’s bound for the promised land,” covers the analysis of Marius’s specific works and looks into how they can be interpreted (Carroll). But the attitudes of these articles do change, with each one being unique on its own outlook of Marius and his life and works. In another article, “Neither Saint nor Sinner: An Analysis of Richard Marius as a Biographer of Thomas Moore,” this article goes into the ways at which Marius wrote about the life of another writer (Bowman). Whereas one article was an analysis and break down of Marius’s works, this article was more of a critique.
Overall, The Southern Quarterly looks to delve into the many different aspects of the South, in many different terms. This journal can be very beneficial to English majors who are looking for information, writings, or specific analyses over the different parts of the South, and how they contribute to literature today. This journal solely looks at the different types of Southern literature and history, and tries to bring it to a more modern groups of people. This journal can be accessed by many databases and libraries, and can also be obtained with a subscription, which costs a fee. Overall, this journal is beneficial because it gives readers a newfound look into Southern culture and shines a light that might melt away all of the stigmas that the South faces today.
Works Cited
Bowman, Glen. “Neither Saint nor Sinner: An Analysis of Richard Marius as Biographer of Thomas More.” Southern Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 4, 2003, pp. 78-91. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.tntech.edu/docview/222245383?accountid=28833.
Carroll, Viera. “Re-Visioning the Overland Trail: Richard Marius’s Bound for the Promised Land.” Southern Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 4, 2003, pp. 52-67. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.tntech.edu/docview/222260514?accountid=28833
“Details for The Southern Quarterly,” EBSCOhost, EBSCO Industries, 2019. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.tntech.edu/ehost/command/detail?vid=0&sid=08a3b4c8-c571-4c24-993b- 1657436eff03%40sessionmgr4006&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#jid=4LD&db=hft
Ellis, Clifton; Haney, Gina. “Visual Culture and Ideology: The Gothic Revival in the Backlot of Antebellum Charleston.” ProQuest, Vol. 44, Iss. 4, (Summer 2007), https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.tntech.edu/docview/222264458/95B6382524E74A63PQ/4?accountid=28833
Hayes, John. “Pleading with Death: Folk Visions of Death (and Life) in the New South.” Southern Quarterly, vol. 53, no. 1, 2015, pp. 105-120,262. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.tntech.edu/docview/1759326149?accountid=28833.
O’Hara, Shelley. What Can You Do with a Major in English? Cliffs Notes, 2005. Web.
Petry, Alice Hall. “Negotiating Boundaries of Southern Womanhood: Dealing with the Powers that Be.” ProQuest, Vol. 41, Iss. 1, (Fall 2002), https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.tntech.edu/docview/222268517/EB22E707FED450DPQ/13?accountid=28833
Smith, Abigail L. “Lay it all on the Table: Death in the American South.” Southern Quarterly, vol. 53, no. 1, 2015, pp. 72-86,263. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.tntech.edu/docview/1759326056?accountid=28833.
“The Southern Quarterly.” The Southern Quarterly | The University of Southern Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi , https://aquila.usm.edu/soq/
University of Southern Mississippi. College of Arts Letters. The Southern Quarterly. (1962). Web.
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